Research provides better understanding of protein dynamics

from the nanoslosh dept.
Proteins are far more active and dynamic than scientists have imagined, say researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Their study, published in the 23 May 2001 issue of Nature, affords the first comprehensive view scientists have had of a proteinís internal motion. "The interior of a protein is much more liquid-like than scientists originally anticipated. Everything is moving, and it's moving all the time, very fast," said A. Joshua Wand, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Penn and principal author of the study. "The really exciting thing is they move so much that, potentially, it dramatically influences how they work," Wand said.