Molecular Biology Models

Colorful molecular models of enzymes and proteins like amylase and interferon gamma, showcasing complex structures and biological functions in a scientific style.

SV40 antigen and tumour suppressor. Molecular model of the simian virus (SV40) large T antigen bound to a retinoblastoma tumour suppressor (Rb). Large...

4128R-33922

Amylase. Molecular model of the enzyme alpha-amylase from the human pancreas. Amylase catalyses the breakdown of starch to sugars, and so starts the d...

$The structure of the Satellite Tobacco Mosaic Viurus (STMV)--one of the smallest viruses known--has been successfully reduced using STMV crystals grown aboard the Space Shuttle in 1992 and 1994. The STMV crystals were up to 30 times the volume of any seen in the laboratory. At the time they gave the best resolution data ever obtained on any virus crystal. STMV is a small icosahedral plant virus, consisting of a protein shell made up of 60 identical protein subunits of molecular weight 17,500. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that, in contrast to the crystals grown on Earth, the crystals grown under microgravity conditions were visually perfect, with no striations or clumping of crystals. Furthermore, the x-ray diffraction data obtained from the space-grown crystals was of a much higher quality than the best data available at that time from ground-based crystals. This stylized ribbon model shows the protein coat in white and the nucleic acid in yellow. STMV is used because it is a si$