Uncovering secrets of elastin's flexibility during assembly

Saturday, February 6, 2016 - 13:30 in Biology & Nature

Elastin is a crucial building block in our bodies -- its flexibility allows skin to stretch and twist, blood vessels to expand and relax with every heartbeat, and lungs to swell and contract with each breath. But exactly how this protein-based tissue achieves this flexibility remained an unsolved question -- until now. An international team has carried out an analysis that reveals the details of a hierarchical structure of scissor-shaped molecules that gives elastin its remarkable properties.

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