Projects

We have created overarching plans and code for the imagining of a charged system and its general dielectric/electric or insulating capacity this can contain larger groups like amino acids or proteins. This program uses paraview for viewing.

Other programs include cohesive programs to assemble large assemblies of cyclical virus machinery from sequence alone , tenable at some level on a desktop.

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The Parameters of Life

Life is dependent on the delicate interplay between many different physical parameters that shape the way they behave. Organisms have learned to exploit particular protein structures to locally alter physical parameters to enhance reaction rates and change reaction dynamics. By orienting charged and non-polar residues, a diverse set of enzymes are capable of directly creating strong electric fields internally. These strong fields help enzyme perform chemical reactions that would normally be impossible and can affect even the quantum behavior of the system

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Approaching Viruses From All Angles

Viruses are limited by the size of their genome. Because they must fit all of their genes inside a capsid that is only 40 nm wide, they must be very thrifty when it comes to reusing their proteins for more than one use. One way to do this is to make complexes of more than one identical protein monomer that have different biological activities. This allows for diverse structures and functions to arise from a single self-interacting component, freeing up the viral genome for other gene product. These structures are often beautiful, radially symmetric structures that resemble flowers and hearts.

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Virology and Science Outreach and Education

Viruses are scary and science can be boring. These are the twin concepts we hope to change with this website. One way to do that is by breaking the stigma of viruses and biological research in general. By taking something that is universally feared (pestilence) and educating the public in an effective, yet gentle way, we hope to prevent a future dominated by ignorance and hate.