Argonne Director describes modern drug design on Voice of America

ARGONNE, Ill. (Oct. 13, 2006) — Appearing on "Our World," the Voice of America's weekly science and technology radio magazine, Argonne Director Robert Rosner describes how scientists use X-ray beams from Argonne's Advanced Photon Source to design new drugs.

By using X-rays to learn the structure and function of viruses, for example, researchers can then design a molecule that block the virus's function. A notable example is the development of Kaletra, one of the world's leading anti-AIDS drugs, by scientists from Abbott Laboratories who studied the HIV virus at the Advanced Photon Source.

Listen to the interview (2 min., 18 sec. mp3 file, 2.1 MB), originally broadcast Oct. 13, 2006.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.