Proteins are important molecules that perform a variety of functions essential to life. To function properly, many proteins must fold into specific structures. However, the way proteins fold into specific structures is still largely unknown. Researchers have developed a novel physical theory that can accurately predict how proteins fold.
Their model can predict things previous models cannot. Improved knowledge of protein folding could offer huge benefits to medical research, as well as to various industrial processes.Proteins are important molecules that perform a variety of functions essential to life. To function properly, many proteins must fold into specific structures. However, the way proteins fold into specific structures is still largely unknown.
Encouraged by the importance of protein folding, Project Assistant Professor Koji Ooka from the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor Munehito Arai from the Department of Life Sciences and Department of Physics embarked on the hard task of improving upon the prediction methods of protein folding. This task is formidable for many reasons. In particular, the computational requirements to simulate the dynamics of molecules necessitate a powerful supercomputer.
But it doesn't end there. There are other limitations of existing protein folding models that Ooka and Arai set their sights on. Proteins can exist inside or outside of living cells; those within are in some ways protected by the cell, but those outside cells, such as antibodies, require additional bonds during folding, called disulfide bonds, which help to stabilize them.
Proteins drive nearly all biological functions and insight into their workings is essential for pharmaceutical developments. But now, a pair of scientists from Japan have found that our fundamental ...
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