What is protein crystallisation for?
In the human body there are around 100 000 proteins. Their function is known in many cases, but we do not know what mechanisms they use to function so precisely and specifically. To understand how proteins work and how and why they sometimes stop doing so, you have to understand their molecular structure. But this is no small thing; we do not have a highly powerful microscope to see the position of each and every one of the atoms that form it. For the time being, the only way of obtaining this structural information is through protein crystallisation. If this is achieved, understanding the structure of the protein will be a question of months.
