Paper Proteins

The individual molecules inside our cells are tiny. Their three-dimensional shapes and structures are far smaller than our eyes can make out, and only revealed with high-tech approaches such as powerful microscopes or X-ray crystallography. But these fun origami models – including DNA (left) and a green fluorescent protein – make them larger than life. They've been produced by the Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics for their Molecule of the Month series, which aims to help learners of all ages explore the world of molecular shapes. And it's not just paper proteins: there are all sorts of other activities too. Enabling people to 'see' these 3D shapes helps them to understand how different molecules function in healthy cells, how they go wrong in disease, and how 'smart drugs' – such as targeted therapies for cancer – lock onto specific parts of proteins in order to do their jobs.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

Writer

Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

Website

• Image from work by David Goodsell and colleagues
• The Scripps Research Institute, USA
• Originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Research published in PLOS Biology, May 2015