Now, a team led by Bryan Shaw at Baylor University in the USA have made inexpensive bite-size models of proteins that can be visualized using the mouth (Baumer, K. M. et al. Sci. Adv. 7, eabh0691 (2021)). Models of nine globular proteins were prepared in two different sizes (pictured); the smaller set ranged from 2–10 mm and the slightly larger set from 5–20 mm. The models were either made from edible gelatin (the same substance that gummy bears are made from) using custom food-grade silicone molds or 3D-printed from non-edible biocompatible resin; in each case, the protein structures were derived from the Protein Data Bank. The non-edible models were prepared with an eyelet so that a safety loop could be added to prevent them from being swallowed.
The technology was initially developed for Shaw’s 10-year-old son — he had one eye removed in infancy and has partial vision in the other — who took part in pilot tests before a larger cohort was engaged. Sighted college students were blindfolded and each given a study model to sense with their hands. They were then presented with a series of different protein models and asked to say if it was the same as the first. The same test format was used for the oral assessment, but the models were placed directly in the participants’ mouths so that they did not touch the models with their fingers. For 32% of the students, higher scores were achieved using oral recall rather than manual recall, whereas the scores were reversed for 28%; 40% of the students achieved identical scores in each test.
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