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PDB-101 Focus: Peak Performance
05/16 
Since 2014, PDB-101 has focused on different topics to help build a collection molecular stories around a particular theme. Past topics have included cancer and diabetes.
In 2025, PDB-101 will highlight the structural stories of Peak Performance: the structural biology of athletics and well-being.
Athletes require bodies that are the best that is possible, all the way from molecules to muscles. By understanding the structure and function of our molecules, athletes can ensure that they are performing at their peak. This knowledge also informs the ways that we all can live our best lives, at all stages of our lives.
Visit the PDB-101 Peak Performance Browser for resources such as:
Within the body, carbohydrates undergo a series of transformations that culminate in the production of glucose, the source of energy for numerous metabolic pathways. Excess glucose is stockpiled within the liver and muscles as glycogen (red). When the body requires a boost of energy, it can access stored glycogen. AMP (white) binds to and activates glycogen phosphorylase (blue), which triggers the breakdown of glycogen, thus providing the glucose supply for energy production.
Visit the 2025 Calendar: The Structural Biology of Nutrition to learn more.
Illustration by RCSB PDB intern Xinyi Christine Zhang.
