This past summer, the PDB attended several meetings and discussed with
users several of the new features available. One of these
developments is the release of of files and images of the
biologically active units for all structures in the archive. Another
is the release of standalone software for the preparation, validation,
and deposition of macromolecular data.
The PDB has provided separate coordinate and image files containing
the biological molecule. These can be accessed from the Structure
Explorer "View Structure" and "Download/Display File" pages.
Software is available for download and installation on your desktop
from deposit.pdb.org/software. Software binaries are provided as
compressed files; README files are included with installation
instructions. Some of the programs available include: PDB_EXTRACT,
which extracts mmCIF data from structure determination applications;
ADIT, which prepares files that can be emailed to the PDB for
deposition; and the PDB Validation Suite, which processes and checks
structure data.
We welcome your comments and questions about these features at
info@rcsb.org.
PDB members, including Huanwang Yang (center) and Kyle Burkhardt (right), demonstrated new deposition software to Rongguang Zhang (Argonne National Laboratory) and other attendees at the ACA 2003 meeting this past summer.
