Protein knots more common than expected

There is plenty that we do not know about the mysterious process of protein folding. Protein structure -- the spacial structure, and not simply the amino-acid components -- is particularly important in a variety of biological processes. Recently researchers found that knots, an energetically difficult and unusually complex protein structure, develop much more commonly than originally anticipated. "If an amino acid chain takes too much time to find its native state or if it is stuck in a misfolded or partially unfolded state, the result may be a useless protein or one that produces harm by causing protein aggregation which is known to cause neurodegenerative disorders," said Kenneth Millett, a professor of mathematics at UC Santa Barbara. The verdict is still out, but one suggestion is that folder proteins are structurally more robust.