News In Brief: Molecules/Matter & Energy - Science News

News In Brief: Molecules/Matter & Energy - Science News: New theoretical work may help explain the long-standing puzzle of why protein molecules fold and unfold at different rates at different temperatures. The answer lies in the quantum world, scientists from Inner Mongolia University in Hohhot, China, suggest in a paper posted February 18 at arxiv.org. They propose that proteins undergo a quantum transition, jumping from one state to the next so that their folding rate changes essentially instantaneously with temperature.