Illustration

Folding chamber

An illustration combines two images. At left is a large piece of scientific equipment, in pink and purple tones, with cables running between its parts. At right, a pom-pom like object with curly tangles in purple and blue shades and yellow tangles at center, reminiscent of a zinnia blossom.

An illustration depicts a study by SLAC and Stanford, including cryo-EM imaging (left), that discovered how a cellular machine called TRiC (right) directs the folding of tubulin (yellow tangle at the center of TRiC). Tubulin is the protein building block of microtubules that serve as the scaffolding and transport system in human cells. The results challenge a 70-year-old theory of how proteins fold in our cells and have profound implications for treating diseases linked to protein misfolding. 

Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

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Researchers used cryo-EM (left) to discover how a chamber in human cells (right) directs protein folding. 

A pom-pom like object with curly tangles in purple and blue shades and yellow tangles at center, reminiscent of a zinnia blossom.