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Studying Protein Shape and Function
Researchers use cluster analysis to study protein shape and function. Each green circle represents one potential shape of the protein mitoNEET. The longer the blue line between two circles, the greater the differences between the shapes. Most shapes are similar--they fall into three clusters that are represented by the three images of the protein.
To learn more about this research, funded in part by the National Science Foundation, see the Eurekalert News story Rice, UCSD scientists probe form, function of mysterious protein. [Research supported by NSF grants PHY 08-22283 and MCB 10-51438.] (Date of Image: January 2011)
Credit: Elizabeth Baxter, Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, University of California, San Diego
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