Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA. moult@umbi.umd.edu
This article provides an introduction to the special issue of the journal Proteins dedicated to the fifth CASP experiment to assess the state of the art in protein structure prediction. The article describes the conduct, the categories of prediction, and the evaluation and assessment procedures of the experiment. A brief summary of progress over the five CASP experiments is provided. Related developments in the field are also described. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.