What web browsers and proteins have in common
The researchers discovered tiny bits of molecular material -- which they named "add-ons" -- on the outer edges of the protein interface that customize what a protein can do. They chose the name because the add-ons customize the interface between proteins the way software add-ons customize a web interface with a user. While it's long been known that proteins have an interface region where they connect with other proteins, it's not been clear exactly how key proteins are able to find each other within a crowded cellular environment that may contain tens of thousands of other proteins. Now, researchers at The Ohio State University and the University of Regensburg report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that it's the add-ons that enable proteins to connect exclusively with the right dedicated partner. Florian Busch, a postdoctoral researcher in chemistry and biochemistry at Ohio State and co-author of the study, called the existence of...