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Nature 438, 36-37 (3 November 2005) | doi:10.1038/438036a; Published online 2 November 2005

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Structural biology: Proteins flex to function

Yuanpeng J. Huang1 & Gaetano T. Montelione1

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Static pictures of protein structures are so prevalent that it is easy to forget they are dynamic molecular machines. Characterizing their intrinsic motions may be necessary to understand how they work.

Enzymes are proteins that catalyse chemical processes by lowering the energy barriers between substrate and product, thus increasing the rate of reaction. They function by stabilizing transition states, the structural intermediates formed in the rate-limiting steps of chemical reactions.

  1. Yuanpeng J. Huang and Gaetano T. Montelione are at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
    Email: guy@cabm.rutgers.edu

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