Celebrating 50 Years of the Protein Data Bank Archive
In 1971, the structural biology community established the single worldwide archive for macromolecular structure data–the Protein Data Bank (PDB). From its inception, the PDB has embraced a culture of open access, leading to its widespread use by the research community. PDB data are used by hundreds of data resources and millions of users exploring fundamental biology, energy, and biomedicine.
In 2021, RCSB PDB and the wwPDB celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the PDB with symposia, materials, and more.
Meetings | Journal Collections and Articles | Historical Background | Celebration Materials
Meetings
- PDB50 Meetings and Symposia hosted by the wwPDB Foundation
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- Inaugural event: A special symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Protein Data Bank (May 4-5, 2021).
- Transactions Symposium 2021: Function Follows Form: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Protein Data Bank (July 30-31, 2021).
This virtual event is part of the Annual Meeting of the American Crystallographic Association. - Understanding Enzyme Function in 3D: Celebrating 50 Years of the Protein Data Bank (Aug 25, 2021); part of the Fall ACS Meeting.
- Bringing Molecular Structure to Life: 50 Years of the PDB (October 20-22, 2021) Virtual EMBL Conference.
- Learning from 50 years of the Protein Data Bank: A satellite symposium of the Biophysical Society of Japan (Nov 25-27, 2021)
- 2021 PDB50 Calendar and Virtual Meeting Backgrounds
Journal Collections and Articles
How the PDB changed biology
Issue contains reviews that celebrates scientific areas profoundly touched by the creation of the PDB
The PDB in JBC
Collection of Journal of Biological Chemistry publications that highlights some seminal PDB structures
Nature Methods
Vol 18, Issue 5, May 2021
Collection: PDB 50th Anniversary: celebrating the future of structural biology
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Vol 28, Issue 5, May 2021
Collection: PDB 50th Anniversary: celebrating the future of structural biology
ASBMB Today
Vol 20, Issue 3, March 2021
Historical Background
Structural biology methods and milestones that helped to build and grow the PDB archive
- Historical Overview of the PDB
- Molecule of the Month on PDB Pioneers (October 2011): a look at the dozen historic structures that set the foundation for the PDB archive
- Structural Biology and Nobel Prizes
- Protein Data Bank and 50 years of Molecular Structures (PDF)
- PDB Users and 50 Years of Community Building
Celebration Materials
- PDB50 at wwPDB.org
- PDB50 logos: long (PNG | EPS) compact (PNG | EPS)
PDB50 Game: This gives players the opportunity to explore the process of structure discovery.
