Picturing Proteins in 3-D

University of Arkansas biochemist James Hinton wanted his students to be able to visualize proteins to better understand their structure and function. So he developed a virtual computer program that blows proteins up into three-dimensional images, and allows students and researchers to examine them from different angles.

“From a teaching standpoint, it’s really, really important that students be able to touch, feel, see, embrace if you like, these proteins,” Hinton said.

NewsHour science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports for the National Science Foundation’s* latest Science Nation piece.

For the record, the National Science Foundation is an underwriter of the NewsHour.