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PDB-101 Focus: Peak Performance
02/16 
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 2024, 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 Browser for more.
Anabolic steroids like testosterone (blue) are among the most common performance-enhancing drugs. They have two major functions: controlling development and maintenance of “male” characteristics and regulating anabolic processes such as synthesis of proteins in muscle cells and formation of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. In the early 1960s, weightlifters and bodybuilders discovered that anabolic steroids improved performance in aerobic and endurance sports. Since then, these compounds have been used (and misused) by amateur and professional athletes. In 1975, the International Olympic Committee placed steroids on their list of banned substances, and most professional sports organizations currently ban their use. The sex hormone-binding globulin, shown here, transports testosterone in the blood from the testes to other tissues.
