Research

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Mechanics in Biology & Fluids

Protein Folding

Many diseases are due to misfolded proteins, so investigating how proteins fold and unfold may lead to better treatments of diseases such as Alzheimer's. Below is a snap shot of one of our molecular dynamics studies of how the protein RNase H reacts to external forces. As shown in the exploded view on the right, one end of the protein is fixed and the other end is pulled in the direction of the arrow. The dynamics takes place in a solution of approximately 4X104 water molecules, as shown on the left.