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PDB-101 Focus: Peak Performance
10/15 
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 Peak Performance Browser for resources such as:
Glucose powers cells throughout your body. Glucose is a convenient fuel molecule because it is stable and soluble, so it is easy to transport through the blood from places where it is stored to places where it is needed. Glucose is packed with chemical energy, ready for the taking. In a test tube, you can burn glucose, forming carbon dioxide and water and a lot of light and heat. Our cells also burn glucose, but they do it in many small, well-controlled steps, so that they can capture the energy in more useable forms, such as ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Glycolysis (sugar-breaking) is the first process in the cellular combustion of glucose. Visit Molecule of the Month: Glycolytic Enzymes to learn more.
