Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 23, 2007

The cyclol was the first structural model of a folded, globular protein. It was developed by Dorothy Wrinch in the late 1930s. Although incorrect as a model for the structure of globular proteins, several elements of the cyclol model were later verified, such as the cyclol reaction itself and the hypothesis that hydrophobic interactions are chiefly responsible for protein folding. The cyclol hypothesis stimulated many scientists to research questions in protein structure and chemistry, and was a precursor of the more accurate models hypothesized for the DNA double helix and protein secondary structure. The proposal and testing of the cyclol model also provides an excellent illustration of empirical falsifiability acting as part of the scientific method. (more...)

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