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Apply today for the HHMI BioInteractive Ambassador Academy! The Academy is a multi-year professional development experience designed to support evidence-based teaching practices. We’re looking for educators with diverse backgrounds and teaching contexts who are committed to centering equity in their classrooms.Description
Scientists now have the ability to create millions of new molecules. How do they test whether any of these molecules are useful? Focusing on a network of proteins involved in glucose sensing and type II diabetes, Dr. Schreiber explains two methods for screening small molecules. Small-molecule microarrays are used to screen for molecules that bind to specific proteins. In cell-based screening, proteins can be probed while performing their cellular jobs. Robotic automation and inexpensive computing have made these mass-scale parallel assays practical. Dr. Schreiber also discusses ChemBank, a project designed to gather information linking proteins, small molecules, and functions. He suggests that in the future, a synergy of chemistry, biology, and computational science may help scientists classify a host of small molecules that affect specific biological functions.