This volume comprises papers presented at the 40th Erice Course "From Molecules to Medicine: Structure of Biological Macromolecules and Its Relevance in Combating New Diseases and Bioterrorism," May 29 to June 8, 2008. The papers span the breadth of material presented, which emp- size the practical aspects of modern macromolecular crystallography and its applications to medicine. Topics addressed span from the selection of targets, through to structure determination, interpretation and exploitation. A particular theme that emerges is the dependence of modern structural science on multiple experimental and computational techniques. It is both the development of these techniques and their integration that will take us forward in the future. The NATO ASI directors worked alongside, and offer deep gratitude to Prof. Sir Tom Blundell, Director of the International School of Crystal- graphy, Dr Colin Groom, Dr Neera Borkakoti, Dr John Irwin and Prof. Lodovico Riva di Sanseverino, who were in turn supported by a number of local facilitators. The course was financed by NATO as an Advanced Study Institute. Additional support was given by the European Crystallographic Association, the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Int- national Union of Crystallography, the University of Bologna, AstraZeneca, Roche, Merck & Co., Boehringer Ingelheim, Bruker Corporation, Douglas Instruments, Informa UK, the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, TTP Lab Tech, University of California at San Francisco. Joel L. Sussman and Paola Spadon

This volume draws on the expertise of leaders in the field of macromolecular crystallography to illuminate the dramatic developments that are accelerating progress in structural biology. Their contributions span the range of techniques from crystallization through data collection, structure solution and analysis. The book shows how modern high-throughput methods are contributing to a deeper understanding of medical problems.

This volume comprises papers presented at the 40th Erice Course "From Molecules to Medicine: Structure of Biological Macromolecules and Its Relevance in Combating New Diseases and Bioterrorism," May 29 to June 8, 2008. The papers span the breadth of material presented, which emp- size the practical aspects of modern macromolecular crystallography and its applications to medicine. Topics addressed span from the selection of targets, through to structure determination, interpretation and exploitation. A particular theme that emerges is the dependence of modern structural science on multiple experimental and computational techniques. It is both the development of these techniques and their integration that will take us forward in the future. The NATO ASI directors worked alongside, and offer deep gratitude to Prof. Sir Tom Blundell, Director of the International School of Crystal- graphy, Dr Colin Groom, Dr Neera Borkakoti, Dr John Irwin and Prof. Lodovico Riva di Sanseverino, who were in turn supported by a number of local facilitators. The course was financed by NATO as an Advanced Study Institute. Additional support was given by the European Crystallographic Association, the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Int- national Union of Crystallography, the University of Bologna, AstraZeneca, Roche, Merck & Co., Boehringer Ingelheim, Bruker Corporation, Douglas Instruments, Informa UK, the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, TTP Lab Tech, University of California at San Francisco. Joel L. Sussman and Paola Spadon

X-ray crystallography is the pre-eminent technique for visualizing the structures of macromolecules at atomic resolution. These structures are central to understanding the detailed mechanisms of biological processes, and to discovering novel therapeutics using a structure-based approach. As yet, structures are known for only a small fraction of the proteins encoded by human and pathogenic genomes. To counter the myriad modern threats of disease, there is an urgent need to determine the structures of the thousands of proteins whose structure and function remain unknown. This volume draws on the expertise of leaders in the field of macromolecular crystallography to illuminate the dramatic developments that are accelerating progress in structural biology. Their contributions span the range of techniques from crystallization through data collection, structure solution and analysis, and show how modern high-throughput methods are contributing to a deeper understanding of medical problems.