Rapid developments in experimental techniques continue to push back the limits in the resolution, size, and complexity of the chemical and biological systems that can be investigated. This challenges the theoretical community to develop innovative methods for better interpreting experimental results. Normal Mode Analysis (NMA) is one such technique. Capable of providing unique insights into the structural and dynamical properties of complex systems, it is now finding a wide range of applications in chemical and biological problems. From the fundamental physical ideas to cutting-edge applications and beyond, this book presents a broad overview of normal mode analysis and its value in state-of-the-art research. The first section introduces NMA, examines NMA algorithm development at different resolutions, and explores the application of those techniques in the study of biological systems. Later chapters cover method developments based on or inspired by NMA but going beyond the harmonic approximation inherent in standard NMA techniques. Normal mode analysis complements traditional approaches with computational efficiency and applicability to large systems that are beyond the reach of older methods. This book offers a unique opportunity to learn from the experiences of an international, interdisciplinary panel of top researchers and explore the latest developments and applications of NMA to biophysical and chemical problems.

Protein Actions: Principles and Modeling is aimed at graduates, advanced undergraduates, and any professional who seeks an introduction to the biological, chemical, and physical properties of proteins. Broadly accessible to biophysicists and biochemists, it will be particularly useful to student and professional structural biologists and molecular biophysicists, bioinformaticians and computational biologists, biological chemists (particularly drug designers) and molecular bioengineers. The book begins by introducing the basic principles of protein structure and function. Some readers will be familiar with aspects of this, but the authors build up a more quantitative approach than their competitors. Emphasizing concepts and theory rather than experimental techniques, the book shows how proteins can be analyzed using the disciplines of elementary statistical mechanics, energetics, and kinetics. These chapters illuminate how proteins attain biologically active states and the properties of those states. The book ends with a synopsis the roles of computational biology and bioinformatics in protein science.