WEIZMANN INSTITUTE SCIENTISTS WIN GLOBAL COMPETITION IN PREDICTING PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTIONS
A panel of scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science received
the best results in the CAPRI (Critical Assessment of Prediction of
Interactions) Challenge, an international competition in which
participants offer predictions of structures of protein-protein
complexes prior to experimental determination. The competitors received three prediction targets, and sixteen teams from around the world
submitted possible solutions.
The Weizmann team, consisting of Dr. Miri Eisenstein of the Chemical Services Unit and Efrat Ben-Zeev, Alex Berchanski, Alex Heifetz and Boaz Shapira (students of Prof. Ephraim Katzir in the Department of Biological Chemistry), was the only group to submit an acceptable prediction for each of the three targets. Dr. Eisenstein won a similar competition as part of a Weizmann Institute team six years ago.
Prediction of the structure of protein-protein complexes is an
increasingly prominent field of endeavor in the current post-genome era,
since new sequences and links between proteins are now regularly being
discovered. Docking is a predictive method that uses computer algorithms
to create three-dimensional models of the interactions formed between
two protein molecules when they make contact, or "dock," with one
another. The CAPRI Challenge, which requires that all competitors
predict interactions for the same unbound molecules, provides a useful
basis of comparison of different docking algorithms. The participants
are given the structures of individual molecules and are requested to
submit their predictions for the resulting complexes by a certain date,
after which the experimental structures are made public. An independent
group of assessors tests and compares all the predictions.
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The Weizmann Institute of Science, in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the
world's foremost centers of scientific research and graduate study. Its
2,500 scientists, students, technicians, and engineers pursue basic
research in the quest for knowledge and the enhancement of humanity. New ways of fighting disease and hunger, protecting the environment, and
harnessing alternative sources of energy are high priorities at
Weizmann.
A panel of scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science received
the best results in the CAPRI (Critical Assessment of Prediction of
Interactions) Challenge, an international competition in which
participants offer predictions of structures of protein-protein
complexes prior to experimental determination. The competitors received three prediction targets, and sixteen teams from around the world
submitted possible solutions.
The Weizmann team, consisting of Dr. Miri Eisenstein of the Chemical Services Unit and Efrat Ben-Zeev, Alex Berchanski, Alex Heifetz and Boaz Shapira (students of Prof. Ephraim Katzir in the Department of Biological Chemistry), was the only group to submit an acceptable prediction for each of the three targets. Dr. Eisenstein won a similar competition as part of a Weizmann Institute team six years ago.
Prediction of the structure of protein-protein complexes is an
increasingly prominent field of endeavor in the current post-genome era,
since new sequences and links between proteins are now regularly being
discovered. Docking is a predictive method that uses computer algorithms
to create three-dimensional models of the interactions formed between
two protein molecules when they make contact, or "dock," with one
another. The CAPRI Challenge, which requires that all competitors
predict interactions for the same unbound molecules, provides a useful
basis of comparison of different docking algorithms. The participants
are given the structures of individual molecules and are requested to
submit their predictions for the resulting complexes by a certain date,
after which the experimental structures are made public. An independent
group of assessors tests and compares all the predictions.
-------------------
The Weizmann Institute of Science, in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the
world's foremost centers of scientific research and graduate study. Its
2,500 scientists, students, technicians, and engineers pursue basic
research in the quest for knowledge and the enhancement of humanity. New ways of fighting disease and hunger, protecting the environment, and
harnessing alternative sources of energy are high priorities at
Weizmann.