The brilliant results achieved by scientific research in recent years, using very fine techniques, have made it possible to determine the structure of many macromolecules of biological interest. The study of these gigantic molecules includes those of insulin, myoglobin, haemoglobin, certain protein hormones and, finally, nucleic acids.
These results have contributed considerably to the understanding of the relationships between the structure of the most complex molecular systems – such as, for example, viruses, genes, chromosomes – and the biological function of these macromolecular systems.
The Study Week was therefore aimed at taking stock of the current state of affairs in this field, with the following three goals:
1) Examining the data acquired thus far, in order to establish possible relations between the chemical and spatial structure of the macromolecules of biological interest, on the one hand, and the specific functions they are responsible for in living beings, on the other;
2) Paving the way for further research capable of elucidating the complicated mechanism of the interaction between the different molecules of biological interest, also in order to find appropriate means for the fight against molecular diseases and viral infections;
3) Attributing to the study of macromolecular systems of biological interest the role it deserves within the life sciences, without abandoning the field of experimental research, thus avoiding easy, ingenuous and unsubstantiated extrapolations which have such a great influence on the formulation of theories concerning the origin of life.