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Lawrence Livermore's 'Science On Saturday' lecture explores menacing microbes

WHO: Lawrence Livermore scientist Beth Vitalis and Tracy High School teacher Dean Reese will present "Menacing Microbes: Protein Models Reveal Secrets."

WHAT: Microbes are living organisms too small to be seen. While most are friendly to humans, some microbes, called pathogens, can cause disease. Although the medical field has created miraculous antimicrobial drugs to ward them off, menacing microbes often change their protein makeup in devious ways to evade being destroyed, resulting in antibiotic resistance and eventually "superbugs." Proteins are diverse and dynamic biomolecules that determine how organisms thrive in changing environments. Protein modeling is a computational tool that researchers use to see microbial proteins. Using Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's high performance computational capabilities, 3D models are created of microbial proteins, providing visual tools to expose microbial secrets. This information can be used to help detect, understand and identify new ways to treat the menacing microbes.

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014

Session I: 9:30 a.m.
Session II: 11:15 a.m.
WHERE: Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., Livermore.

NOTE: Admission is free. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis; there is no pre-registration. Directions, maps and a complete list of lectures are available on the Web. Presentations may be viewed online via Livestream. Science on Saturday is presented by LLNL's Science Education Program.