Protein Data Bank in Europe - an integrated resource for 3D molecular and cellular structure.

The Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe) is building the digital infrastructure to archive and share 3D snapshots of more than 100,000 biological molecules—from individual proteins to entire cellular machines. This matters because structural biology is generating data faster than the systems designed to store and organise it can keep up. New imaging techniques now capture molecules in motion, inside cells, and at different scales, producing complex, heterogeneous datasets that existing archives were not built to handle. Without better archiving, researchers risk losing access to valuable structural knowledge that underpins drug design, enzyme engineering, and fundamental biology. If successful, PDBe will become a central, integrated resource that both specialists and non-experts can use to find, visualise, and compare 3D structures. This is infrastructure that quietly powers biomedical research: a well-organised archive means a scientist designing a new cancer therapy can quickly check how a target protein folds, or how a virus docks onto a human cell. The project also expands training and outreach, helping the global community adopt better data-sharing standards. The work is primarily about building and maintaining a public good—a digital library for molecular architecture—rather than making a specific discovery.