PDB-101: Home Page

Health Focus: Drugs and the Brain

The brain orchestrates everything we do, sending signals through the nervous system to control different parts of our body. The brain is also the home of our thoughts and consciousness, as neurons process the input from our senses and store what they find as memories. Many drugs are available to help tune the function of the brain and nervous system when there are problems. Unfortunately, the effects of some drugs are hard to control and can lead to abuse and addiction. Explore PDB-101 Resources to learn about proteins related to our nervous system and mental health.

2020 Video Challenge for High School Students

Molecular Mechanisms of Opioid Action

Entries for the Video Challenge can be submitted now until April 28, 11:59 pm PST. Award winners will be announced on May 19.

Quick Links

The Challenge | Submit Video | Learn | Participate

2020 Video Challenge key visual: opioid receptor with ligand in the active site

Learn: Materials for Exploration

Video: What is a Protein?

Learn about the relationship between protein structure and function.

Paper Models Posters Videos Animations

Teach: Curricula

The RCSB PDB Curricula provide authentic, hands-on teaching materials, individual and group activities and assessment suggestions.

All Curricula

Education Corner: Using PDB Resources

January 2020

Using the Protein Data Bank in the College Classroom by Bonnie Hall (Grand View University, Iowa)

All Issues

SciArt Galleries

Irving Geis (1908-1997) was a gifted artist who helped illuminate the field of structural biology with his iconic images. The Geis Digital Archive features many of his illustrations in the context of their molecular structures.

Cytochrome c

Trypsin

Intermolecular Contacts in Hemoglobin S

Ribonuclease S

Myoglobin Fold

Induced Lac Repressor

Cytochrome c (unbound)

Transfer Ribonucleic Acid (tRNA)

Deoxyhemoglobin

Carboxypeptidase A

Lac Repressor

Aspartate Transcarbamoylase (ATCase)

TATA-Binding Protein (TBP)

Oxyhemoglobin

DNA

Hemoglobin S

Myoglobin

Myohemerythrin

Tomato Bushy Stunt Virus (TBSV)

Collagen

B-DNA

Crambin

Z-DNA

A-DNA

Hemoglobin

Lysozyme (488)

Lysozyme (512)

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

Immunoglobulin G (IgG)

DPG-Hemoglobin Complex

Hemoglobin (1000)

The Molecular Landscapes by David S. Goodsell integrate information from structural biology, microscopy and biophysics to simulate detailed views of the molecular structure of living cells.

Illustrations are free for use under a CC-BY-4.0 license