It looks futuristic…and it is. It could in fact hold the key to helping to solve almost every disease known to the living world…It's called the Caduceus.

"I think we're on the verge of being able to control and manipulate living organisms at a level, which is undreamt of."

To understand disease scientists need to understand protein structure. If you can prevent the action of disease causing proteins, you can cure the disease.

Australia's science agency CSIRO grows vast quantities of cells in a laboratory to extract proteins from which crystals are grown. The crystals are basically identical units of the protein stacked up in a perfect order.

The protein molecules are so small that they can only be see be seen by this x-ray machine, which allows us to build an image of the protein's atomic structure. This image is then compared with stored images of drug compounds to one find that binds effectively to the protein to inhibit its activity.

"You're doing a jigsaw basically, where you've got one piece missing in a jigsaw. And Cadaceus is able to take thousands of these molecules and test each one out and find a fit."

Caduceus, has the ability to make 256 million calculations a seconds, comparing the image with the 100's of 1000's it has stored. Making the process of finding a cure for disease infinitely faster.

"I think biology is just at the starting point of an explosion of knowledge. And I think this is going to provide us huge opportunities in terms of controlling disease and problems associated with human health and in the health of animals and basically the entire living system of the world."

Warwick Glynn
CSIRO Health Sciences and Nutrition
343 Royal Parade
Parkville VIC 3052
warwick.glynn@csiro.au