Coarse Grain Forcefield for Biomolecules 
The diversity of protein-lipid interactions remains a fascinating topic. This paper from the Sansom group is a nice illustration of how multiple lipids fight with each other to sit next to the big guys. Duncan, Corey & Sansom, PNAS, 2020.
!!!!! Cancelled !!!!
Announcing the 2020 Martini Coarse-Graining Workshop
Where: University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Links to the venue and city:
When: August 23-28, 2020. The workshop starts on Sunday, August 23 at 8 pm (welcome reception), first lecture on Monday, August 24 at 9 am, and finishes on Friday, August 28 at 1 pm.
What:
Who: Anyone interested! However, we assume that you have a working knowledge of the Linux operating system and some experience on running MD simulations. The idea is that everyone, from beginner to experienced modeller will be able to work and progress on their own. Keep in mind that you will gain more from the workshop if you invest time in some modelling tools before the workshop starts. All hands-on exercises use a recent GROMACS version. We advise you to get some practice with GROMACS before the workshop, in this way you will spend more time on learning coarse-graining than on learning GROMACS.
Actin fibres are important for the shape, strength and movement of cells. They can bind to the cell membrane, providing it with support. However, exactly how they bind is unknown. Martini-based simulations (what else ?), supported by experiments, reveal how divalent ions can either enhance or suppress the binding strength dependent on lipid composition. For details, see: Schroer et al., PNAS, online.
Check out this improved version of Martini, now able to represent cation-π interactions and allowing a much more realistic binding of peripheral membrane proteins. The version is coined 2.3, but should not be confused with the forthcoming release of Martini 3 which concerns a thorough recalibration of the full interaction matrix. For details, see:
H.M. Khan et al., Capturing choline-aromatics cation-π interactions in the MARTINI force field, JCTC, 2020. doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.9b01194
The new parameter definitions can be downloaded here.
Apparently there is this new platform called 'twitter'. I thought it would be a good idea to open an account for Martini, so interested people can keep up to date with the latest developments. Check @CG_Martini and #CG_Martini and spread the word ....
The application range of Martini keeps expanding. See for instance this recent publication from a Japanese group on conformational changes of a protein upon ligand binding:
T. Negami, K. Shimuzu, T. Terada. Chem. Phys. Lett. 742, 2020. doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2020.137144