The Shape in Water: First Nanometer-Scale Measurements of the Folded Structure of Biomolecules in Liquids

Tinkering with a method they helped develop over the last few years, scientists have for the first time measured at the nanometer scale the characteristic patterns of folds that give proteins their three-dimensional shape in water. Developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues, this technique will help scientists gain insights about the behavior of biomolecules in watery environments similar to those in cells. These insights, in turn, could increase our understanding of major diseases, including Alzheimer’s, that are related to “mistakes” in protein folding.