Molecular Embodiments and the Body-work of Modeling in Protein Crystallography

Abstract

Protein molecules, those objects of increasing interest and investment in post-genomics research, are complex, three-dimensional structures made up of thousands of atoms. Protein crystallographers build atomic-resolution models of proteins using the techniques of X-ray diffraction. This ethnographic study of protein crystallography shows that becoming an expert crystallographer, and so making sense of such intricate objects, requires researchers to draw on their bodies as a resource to learn about, work with, and communicate precise molecular configurations. Contemporary crystallographic modeling relies intensively on interactive computer graphics technology, and requires active and prolonged handling and manipulation of the model onscreen throughout the often arduous process of model-building. This paper builds on both ethnographic observations of contemporary protein crystallographers and historical accounts of early molecular modeling techniques to examine the body-work of crystallographic modeling, in particular the corporeal practices through which modelers learn the intricate structures of protein molecules. Ethnographic observations suggest that, in the process of building and manipulating protein models, crystallographers also sculpt embodied models alongside the digital renderings they craft onscreen. Crystallographic modeling at the computer interface is thus not only a means of producing representations of proteins; it is also a means of training novice crystallographers' bodies and imaginations. Protein crystallographers' molecular embodiments thus offer a site for posing a new range of questions for studies of the visual cultures and knowledge practices in the computer-mediated life sciences.Keywords embodied practice, expertise and training, models, protein crystallography, scientific visualization, tacit knowledge Molecular Embodiments and the Body-work of Modeling in Protein Crystallography Natasha MyersA new biological actor is taking center-stage in post-genomic research: the protein molecule. As journals such as Science and Nature publish new protein structures almost weekly, life scientists can be seen turning from matters of code to matters of substance -that is, from spelling out linear gene sequences to inquiring after the three-dimensional materiality, structure, and function of the protein molecules that give body to cells. In employing new digital media, augmented computer power, and innovative techniques to build atomic-resolution models of proteins, protein crystallographers and other structural biologists are transforming the very forms of data that

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