UW nanotech center develops new protein imaging method

from the Go,-Huskies! dept.
According to a press release (29 November 2001), a team of researchers under Viola Vogel, director of the University of Washington's (Seattle) Center for Nanotechnology, have developed a new technique for observing large proteins that gives scientists the most detailed picture yet of the biological workhorses in action and promises to shed light on a wide range of protein functions, particularly in settings of medical interest.
"To a large extent, a protein's structure determines its function," said Vogel. "But, for very large proteins, the precise correlation is poorly defined. Now we have a very efficient way of tracking changes in structure so we can see how it relates to what these large proteins do."