Venomous snail key behind therapeutic molecules
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 - 08:02
in Biology & Nature
Can a painkiller be re-engineered to get a closer look at how proteins bind to communication channels? Researchers across Europe are using state-of-the-art computing techniques to re-engineer a painkiller from the XEP-018 protein, which was identified inside the venom of the Conus consors, a species of sea snail. CONCO, gathering 19 European partners and the J.Craig Venter Institute in the United States, is using the venomous sea snail to develop new therapeutic molecules.