Researchers studying peptides using the Gordon supercomputer at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego have found new ways to elucidate the creation of the toxic oligomers associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Igor Tsigelny, a research scientist with SDSC, the UCSD Moores Cancer Center, and the Department of Neurosciences, focused on the small peptide called amyloid-beta, which pairs up with itself to form dimers and oligomers. The scientists surveyed all the possible ways to look at the dynamics of conformational changes of these peptides and the possibility that they might organize into the oligomers theorized to be responsible for the degenerative brain disease. In the February 14 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, the researchers suggest their results may generate new targets for drug development. To read further, please visit http://www.sdsc.edu/News%20Items/PR021814_alzheimers.html.