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ST Huber, D Terwiel, WH Evers, D Maresca, AJ Jakobi. Preprint 2022 doi: 10.1101/2022.05.08.489936
Many kinds of bacteria and archaea control their buoyancy to move to optimal positions in liquid environments. They do this by making nano-compartments called "gas vesicles", long "pipes" with closed ends filled with gases. In 2022, gas vesicle structure was solved, revealing self-assembling thin-walled cylinders of remarkable strength with gas-permeable pores and water-repelling (hydrophobic) interiors. Building on this structural knowledge, gas vesicles are being engineered to serve as biosensors that report via ultrasound.

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by Eric Martz
A historical review on sculptures and physical models of macromolecules.

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G Atilla-Gocumen, L Di Costanzo, E Meggers. J Biol Inorg Chem. 2010 doi: 10.1007/s00775-010-0699-x
A crystal structure of an organometallic half-sandwich ruthenium complex bound to glycogen synthase kinase 3ß (GSK-3ß) reveals that the inhibitor binds to the ATP binding site via an induced fit mechanism utilizing several hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. Importantly, the metal is not involved in any direct interaction with the protein kinase but fulfills a purely structural role.

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Positive (+) and Negative (-) charges on the surface of a protein molecule play crucial roles in its interactions with other molecules, and hence in its functions. Electrostatic potential maps coloring the surface of a protein molecule are a popular way to visualize the distribution of surface charges. Easy to use free software is available to to create these surface maps. Above is an integral membrane potassium channel protein. One of its 4 identical chains is removed so you can see the Negative (-) protein surface contacting the 3 K+ ions.

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