Chemists make beds with soft landings

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With soft-landing techniques the peptides fashion themselves into stable helices (in red). Image: Julia LaskinPacific Northwest National Laboratory
With soft-landing techniques, the peptides fashion themselves into stable helices (in red). Image: Julia Laskin/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
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Bedsprings aren't often found in biology. Now, chemists have succeeded in making a layer of tiny protein coils attached to a surface, much like miniature bedsprings in a frame. This thin film made of stable and very pure helices can help researchers develop molecular electronics or solar cells, or to divine the biology of proteins.


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