Illustration of Hero Proteins Protecting Other Proteins (IMAGE)
Caption
The liquid portion (lysate) of cells is clear at normal temperature (left) but becomes cloudy after boiling (center). After researchers spin the tubes at high speeds (centrifugation), the cloudy liquid separates into a white clump at the bottom of the tube, made of normal proteins that became unstable and misfolded due to the heat, and the remaining clear liquid containing anything that was unaffected by the heat (right). The remarkable Hero proteins are part of the remaining clear liquid and were studied by University of Tokyo researchers.
Credit
Photo by Kotaro Tsuboyama, CC BY 4.0
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Photo by Kotaro Tsuboyama, CC BY 4.0
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