iSGTW Image of the week - SNAREd in the biological act

Image of the week - SNAREd in the biological act A schematic snapshot of the SNARE protein complex embedded between two cell membranes. The dynamic 340,000 atom simulation was conducted using the distributed resources of DEISA. Image © Marc BaadenCell membranes are a hot-zone of biological activity, allowing chemicals in and out of your cells, playing host to intra-membrane proteins, and even fusing with neighboring membranes. Disturbing any of these functions can have far-reaching consequences for your health, which is one reason why Marc Baaden is working to improve our understanding of just how cell membranes work.Baaden and a team from the Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, CNRS, France, are using complex computer simulations to model the function of the membrane-fusing SNARE complex.Using GROMACS software and 218,000 CPU hours from 96 distributed DEISA processors, Baaden was able to simulate the dynamic interactions of the two-membrane SNARE system, a massive task incorporating the trajectories of 340,000 atoms.