Watching a protein as it functions
Friday, March 15, 2013 - 08:30
in Biology & Nature
(Phys.org) —When it comes to understanding how proteins perform their amazing cellular feats, it is often the case that the more one knows the less one realizes they know. For decades, biochemists and biophysicists have worked to reveal the relationship between protein structural complexity and function, only to discover more complexity. One challenging aspect of protein behavior has been the speed with which they change shape and interact with their neighboring biomolecules. Until recently, researchers have relied on a somewhat static approach, using freeze-trapping to capture protein intermediates at various steps along a biochemical pathway. But exciting breakthroughs now allow us to watch proteins changing in real time.