Big data tackles tiny molecular machines

Open, feed, cut. Such is the humdrum life of a motor molecule that eats and excretes damaged proteins and turns them into harmless peptides for disposal. The why is obvious: Without these trash bins, the Escherichia coli bacteria they serve would die. And thanks to new research, the how is becoming clearer. Researchers have combined genetic and structural data to begin to solve one of the most compelling mysteries in biology: how proteins perform the regulatory mechanisms in cells upon which life depends.

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