From within complex structures of organisms and cells down to the molecular level, biological processes all involve movement. Muscular fibers slide on each other to activate the muscle, as polymerases do along nucleic acids for replicating and transcribing the genetic material. Cells move and organize themselves into organs by recognizing each other through macromolecular surface-specific interactions. These recognition processes involve the mu tual adaptation of structures that rely on their flexibility. All sorts of conformational changes occur in proteins involved in through-membrane signal transmission, showing another aspect of the flexibility of these macromolecules. The movement and flexibility are inscribed in the polymeric nature of essential biological macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. For instance, the well-defined structures formed by the long protein chain are held together by weak noncovalent interac tions that design a complex potential well in which the protein floats, permanently fluctuating between several micro- or macroconformations in a wide range of frequencies and ampli tudes. The inherent mobility of biomolecular edifices may be crucial to the adaptation of their structures to particular functions. Progress in methods for investigating macromolecular structures and dynamics make this hypothesis not only attractive but more and more testable.

Essentials of Chemical Biology Discover a detailed knowledge of concepts and techniques that shape this unique multi-discipline Chemical Biology is devoted to understanding the way that Biology works at the molecular level. This is a problem-driven multi-discipline, incorporating as it does Organic, Physical, Inorganic, and Analytical Chemistry alongside newer emerging molecular disciplines. In recent years, Chemical Biology has emerged as a vibrant and growing multi-discipline distinct from Biochemistry that is focused on the quantitative analyses of the structures and functions of biological macromolecules and macromolecular lipid assemblies, at first in isolation, then in vitro and in vivo. The second edition of the Essentials of Chemical Biology begins with a thorough introduction to the structure of biological macromolecules and macromolecular lipid assemblies, before moving on to the principles of chemical and biological synthesis, followed by descriptions of a comprehensive variety of research techniques and experimental methods. In addition, the second edition now includes new sections on the behaviour of biological macromolecules and macromolecular lipid assemblies in cells in vitro and in organisms in vivo. Given this, the second edition of the Essentials of Chemical Biology promises to cement itself as the leading introduction to Chemical Biology, incorporating descriptions of cutting-edge research wherever appropriate. Hence, readers of the second edition of the Essentials of Chemical Biology will find: a general expansion in understanding of basic molecular mechanisms in Biology moving towards cellular and organismal mechanisms entirely new chapters covering miniaturization and array technologies, Chemical Cell Biology, and the interface between Chemical Biology and Nanotechnology updates to chapters reflecting recent research developments an increased engagement with medical applications Essentials of Chemical Biology is ideal for advanced undergraduates or (post) graduate students in Chemical Biology and adjacent fields.

This text offers a survey of the state of research worldwide on the interactions and dynamics of large biological molecules such as DNA and proteins and on the effects of dynamics upon structure determination. Authors from renowned laboratories and institutions discuss new findings and new directions for the greater understanding of the interactions of molecules to create life-processes. Although the topics covered in the book require a relatively advanced understanding of biomedical/biochemical and biophysical science, the overall range of expertise and focus provides a broad survey of experimental techniques and approaches to the problem of understanding molecular recognition and interaction and the potential for drug design and development.

A collection of articles looking at modern structural biology, summarizing the applications of physical methods - such as x-ray diffraction, high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular dynamics - to the study of protein structure and dynamics. There is a review of contemporary thoughts within the field, looking at the mechanisms of alloateric transitions and allosteric control, the transmission of information within protein structures and the role of dynamics in determining the specificity of protein - ligand interactions. There is also a look at future innovations.

Dynamics of Biological Macromolecules by Neutron Scattering provides insight into the study of the dynamics of biological macromolecules by neutron scattering techniques. The applicability of neutron scattering to expanding fields of biological studies is very extended and the neutron scattering community is interested in using these unique technologies to their best advantage. The book is focused on recent scientific results on biomolecular motions obtained by using neutron spectroscopy, and also discusses likely directions of future work on biological macromolecular systems while outlining some challenging, hitherto inaccessible problem areas. The Ebook should be very useful for biophysicists, biochemists, experts and non-experts in neutron scattering.

This is a book about the physical processes in reacting complex molecules, particularly biomolecules. In the past decade scientists from different fields such as medicine, biology, chemistry and physics have collected a huge amount of data about the structure, dynamics and functioning of biomolecules. Great progress has been achieved in exploring the structure of complex molecules. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the dynamics and functioning of biological macromolecules. In particular this refers to enzymes, which are the basic molecular machines working in living systems. This book contributes to the exploration of the physical mechanisms of these processes, focusing on critical aspects such as the role of nonlinear excitations and of stochastic effects. An extensive range of original results has been obtained in the last few years by the authors, and these results are presented together with a comprehensive survey of the state of the art in the field. Contents: Introduction to the Reaction Theory and Cluster Dynamics of Enzymes (W Ebeling, A Netrebko & Yu Romanovsky); Tools of Stochastic Dynamics (L Schimansky-Geier & P Talkner); Motion of Test Particles in a 2-D Potential Landscape (O A Chichigina, A V Netrebko & N V Netrebko); Microscopic Simulations of Activation and Dissociation (W Ebeling, V Yu Podlipchuk, M G Sapeshinsky & A A Valuev); Excitations on Rings of Molecules (A Chetverikov, W Ebeling, M Jenssen & Yu Romanovsky); Fermi Resonance and Kramers Problem in 2-D Force Field (S V Kroo, A V Netrebko, Yu M Romanovsky & L Schimansky-Geier); Molecular Scissors. Cluster Model of Acetylcholinesterase (A Yu Chikishev, S V Kroo, A V Netrebko, N V Netrebko & Yu Romanovsky); Dynamics of Proton Transfer in the Active Site of Chymotrypsin (A Yu Chikishev, B A Grishanin & E V Shuvalova); On the Damping of Cluster Oscillations in Protein Molecules (A Yu Chikishev, A V Netrebko & Yu M Romanovsky); Protein Dynamics and New Approaches to the Molecular Mechanisms of Protein Functioning (K V Shaitan). Readership: Researchers and graduate students in physics, biophysics, molecular biology and the life sciences; experts on nonlinear dynamics and the stochastic process in molecular systems and biomolecules.