Pore-like proteins designed from scratch

In a milestone for biomolecular design, a team of scientists has succeeded in creating new proteins that adopt one of the most complex folds known to molecular biology. These designer proteins were shown in the lab to spontaneously fold into their intended structures and embed into lipid membranes. Reported in the journal Science, this research opens the door to the construction of custom nanoscale tools for advanced filtration and DNA sequencing.