Some Basics
Everybody knows the central dogma of molecular biology - DNA=>RNA=>Protein. There is another lesser know dogma - protein primary sequence=>protein 3D structure=>protein function. The real challenge now is to actually be able to predict a protein's function given its amino acid sequence.
Proteins come in mind boggling range of shapes and functions. Yet all of these exotic stuctures derive their blueprints from a modest (boring), 1D stretch of information encoded in a mRNA fragment. Hence, essentially, manufacturing a protein is simply (!) the folding up of a linear polymer of amino acids onto itself through twists and turns and coils assuming a complex 3D structure which can do useful things.
There is considerable evidence suggesting that the protein's primary structure contains sufficient information to direct the folding of the polypeptide backbone to give a correctly folded 3D sturcture.
Show Me My Millions
Biology never had it so good. We now seem to know much of the basics, we seem to have the suitable technology and most importantly we also have brains working towards this massive goal. It is just a matter of who claims the top cherry. Biology is therefore going to be an increasingly interesting area even for the VCs. The X Pize Foundation of the first-private-spaceship-contest fame is now planning to offer a new prize '$5 million to $20 million for anyone who can decode the DNA of 100 or more people in a matter of weeks'. This gives one an idea of how important the once academic questions of biology have become relevant to the general masses. What would the next prize be . . . protein folding?
These are not the millions I was talkin about. These are just the tip of an ice-berg. By putting together 20 amino acids together biology has produced a plethora of protein structures and this was pretty much to be expected given the diversity that surrouds us. But even these different proteins are made of a large but limited number of motifs. Once all these motifs are charaterised one would truly have the nuts and bolts out of which actual functional proteins - molecular machines could be made. This would open up an entire industry of protein engineering. A good part of which may focus on chemically tweaking the existing proteins and a maybe a smaller group may focus on inventing entirely novel proteins. The possibilities seem to be endless. People are already using biological macromolecules in household products - e.g. Subtilisin a proteolytic enzyme is used in these.
I can go on and on . . . got the point ?
