This New Database of Over 350,000 Proteins Will Change The Research of Life Itself PATRICK GALEY, AFP 23 JULY 2021 Scientists on Thursday unveiled the most exhaustive database yet of the proteins that form the building blocks of life, in a breakthrough observers said would "fundamentally change biological research".
Every cell in every living organism is triggered to perform its function by proteins that deliver constant instructions to maintain health and ward off infection. Unlike the genome – the complete sequence of human genes that encode cellular life – the human proteome is constantly changing in response to genetic instructions and environmental stimuli. Understanding how proteins operate – the shape in which they end up, or "fold" into – within cells has fascinated scientists for decades.