Dynamics, Structure and Function of Biological Macromolecules (Nato: Life Sciences, 315)

This volume is a collection of articles at the cutting age of modern structural biology, summarizing the most recent applications of physical methods - notably x-ray diffraction, high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular dynamics - to the study of protein structure and dynamics. Several of the chapters offer a critical review of current thinking on the mechanisms of allosteric transitions and allosteric control, the transmission of information within protein structures and the role of dynamics in determining the specificity of protein - ligand interactions. Emphasis is placed throughout on questions which still remain to be answered and promising methodological innovations - such as Temperature-jump NMR and NMR at high pressures are discussed in this context.