Protein visualization and simulation in 3D

The function of a protein is primarily determined by its three-dimensional geometry, which is, in turn, determined by its one-dimensional amino acid sequence. It is not practical to replicate this process, called protein folding, with brute-force algorithms and today's computer technology. Instead, biological scientists and pharmacologists can utilize protein visualization software, which allows them to view and explore known protein structures in 3D on personal computers. In this way, researchers apply human intuition to the folding problem and can develop drugs that interact with proteins without directly solving the folding problem.