Visualizing Proteins – SAIL

In conjunction with Raghu Parthasarathy’s Summer Academy to Inspire Learning (SAIL) class on biophysics, we worked with the students in the Price Science Common’s VizLab to get them to review and visually analyze the 3D structure of  series of proteins.  We included the cholera toxin protein, collagen, an immunoglobulin protein, and a few others.  The students then had a chance to pick a favorite, use a screen capture tool in MS Windows to create a digital copy of the structure, and send it to the DeArmond Makerspace where we then used a laser etching tool to create a SAIL souvenir for each of the students.  The cholera toxin with its cyclic  membrane channel structure was the most popular.  It also allowed us to talk about why the cholera protein toxin was so toxic.