Scientists Determine New Way To Untangle Proteins By Unboiling an Egg

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Scientists Determine New Way To Untangle Proteins By Unboiling an Egg

Posted by samzenpus on Monday January 26, 2015 @04:38AM from the I-would-like-my-eggs-undone-please dept.

An anonymous reader sends word of this biotech breakthrough. "Univ. of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) and Australian chemists have figured out how to unboil egg whites—an innovation that could dramatically reduce costs for cancer treatments, food production and other segments of the $160 billion global biotechnology industry, according to findings published in ChemBioChem. 'Yes, we have invented a way to unboil a hen egg,' said Gregory Weiss, UCI professor of chemistry and molecular biology & biochemistry. 'In our paper, we describe a device for pulling apart tangled proteins and allowing them to refold. We start with egg whites boiled for 20 min at 90 C and return a key protein in the egg to working order.'"

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Wow .... by gstoddart · 2015-01-26 04:41 · Score: 4, Interesting

That's pretty cool.
Imagine, a seasoning which turned your tough steak back from being shoe leather. :-P
Un-boiling an egg, the mind boggles.
I wonder what wacky applications chefs will come up with for this one. I can see some of the molecular gastronomy folks doing some odd things.

--
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
1. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  Sadly if you RTF[A/S] they say:
  
  We start with egg whites boiled for 20 min at 90 C and return a key protein in the egg to working order.
  One key protein does not make an egg.
2. Re:Wow .... by Mr+D+from+63 · 2015-01-26 04:55 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Un-boiling an egg, the mind boggles.
  I read the article, and still can't figure out what they are really doing or how they are really gonna use it, seems to be a processing technique more than a production technique. Somehow I suspect the unboiled whites are not quite the same as the original.
  
  I guess the next step is to un-fry a chicken.
3. Re:Wow .... by bobbied · 2015-01-26 04:59 · Score: 1
  
  I can see some of the molecular gastronomy folks doing some odd things.
  Perhaps, but given the possible sources of the acid used, I'm going to avoid eating an egg treated with it.
  
  --
  "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
4. Re:Wow .... by TWX · 2015-01-26 05:00 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I guess the next step is to un-fry a chicken.
  There's a particular Wendy's that I won't eat at; they seem to have mastered this technique based on what I've been served between two pieces of bread.
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
5. Re:Wow .... by coughfeeman · 2015-01-26 05:03 · Score: 1
  
  Imagine, a seasoning which turned your tough steak back from being shoe leather.
  I wonder what wacky applications chefs will come up with for this one. I can see some of the molecular gastronomy folks doing some odd things.
  From the article: "he and his colleagues add a urea substance that chews away at the whites, liquefying the solid material." I'm sure if you send that overdone steak back to the kitchen, the chef would be happy to apply the finest urea available to remedy the situation.
  But actually, the process won't return the steak back to uncooked meat, it would turn the steak back to protein soup.
6. Re:Wow .... by CastrTroy · 2015-01-26 05:11 · Score: 1
  
  It would be an interesting way to eat a "raw" egg without having to worry about salmonella. A new way to make steak tartar, cook all the ingredients, then use new scientific methods to uncook the ingredients. Safe and delicious.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
7. Re:Wow .... by blackicye · 2015-01-26 05:16 · Score: 1
  
  I wonder what wacky applications chefs will come up with for this one. I can see some of the molecular gastronomy folks doing some odd things.
  Urea is involved in the protein untangling...that would probably make for some scary gastronomy.
8. Re:Wow .... by GrumpySteen · 2015-01-26 05:19 · Score: 2
  
  It would be an interesting way to eat a "raw" egg without having to worry about salmonella.
  Not really that interesting since pasteurized eggs are already available for sale and relatively easy to find.
9. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:28 · Score: 0
  
  I'm not sure the article linked is the correct one.
  The universities aren't the same plus the PI (some guy named Weiss: http://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/01/chemists-find-way-unboil-eggs) is not on the paper.
10. Re:Wow .... by Orange+Crush · 2015-01-26 05:34 · Score: 1
  
  You can pasteurize eggs and meat at home using any of the precision temperature cookers on the market for Sous Vide cooking. (Immersion circulators, water ovens, crockpot + PID, etc.)
11. Re:Wow .... by ColdWetDog · 2015-01-26 05:51 · Score: 1
  
  Yep, boiling the raw egg in urea would probably turn the Salmonella into harmless bits.
  Your GI track, not so much.....
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
12. Re:Wow .... by orgelspieler · 2015-01-26 06:05 · Score: 2
  
  Are you sure that was bread? It might have been more chicken.
13. Re:Wow .... by Marginal+Coward · 2015-01-26 06:14 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Un-boiling an egg, the mind boggles.
  Yes, but if these researchers think they're so darn smart, let's see 'em put toothpaste back into the tube...
14. Re:Wow .... by Rei · 2015-01-26 06:23 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  It's a two-step process. The first is a chemical that dissolves the proteins (still in their "cooked" folding), and the second is some sort of centrifuge or similar (they don't go into details on the device in the article) that subjects the proteins to very high sheer strain, effectively mechanically unfolding them so that they can then relax back into their natural state.
  Not exactly a spice you can sprinkle onto your steak, but still pretty neat. :)
  
  --
  Crowd: What do we want? Fry: Fry's dog! Crowd: When do we want it? Fry: Fry's dog!
15. Re:Wow .... by gstoddart · 2015-01-26 06:34 · Score: 1
  
  Urea is involved in the protein untangling...that would probably make for some scary gastronomy.
  It certainly gives new meaning to "fry until golden". ;-)
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
16. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 06:47 · Score: 0
  
  Could be worse. Last time I ordered grilled chicken at my local KFC, it seemed that they had taken fried chicken and drawn grill marks on with a Sharpie.
17. Re:Wow .... by Hotawa+Hawk-eye · 2015-01-26 06:48 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  From what I gathered from the article, a particular cancer medication needs to be produced using expensive materials (hamster ovaries) because the proteins produced by the ovaries don't get tangled up for some reason. Producing those proteins in a less expensive material (E. coli, yeast) would lead to tangling of the proteins. If they can use the less expensive material and detangle the proteins for less than the cost of producing the proteins in the hamster ovaries, the price of the medication would (hopefully) go down and the supply would increase.
  So the next step is to un-tangle proteins produced from yeast, I guess.
18. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 07:09 · Score: 0
  
  Really inspector, I promise that those eggs were cooked at one point. Really. Honest. I would try to get away with serving never-cooked eggs.
19. Re:Wow .... by TechyImmigrant · 2015-01-26 07:26 · Score: 1
  
  So there's money to be made breeding hamsters for their ovaries?
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
20. Re:Wow .... by TechyImmigrant · 2015-01-26 07:28 · Score: 1
  
  It would be an interesting way to eat a "raw" egg without having to worry about salmonella.
  I eat raw eggs without worrying about salmonella.
  I get my eggs from these guys: http://www.phoenixseggfarm.com...
  If your egg supply is infected, you should change egg supplier. Those eggs cost more, but they don't make me ill.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
21. Re:Wow .... by TWX · 2015-01-26 07:28 · Score: 1
  
  Heh. It's actually fairly common to cook something one way until it's mostly done, then finish it another way so that it takes on the character of that second way of cooking. It can be a bit difficult to cook fowl on a grille without drying it out, so it's often baked and then finished in the grille to change the characteristics of the skin and to put the marks on.
  
  Sounds like the grille at the KFC wasn't hot, so all you got was the carbon-buildup rubbed on to the outside of the already-cooked meat.
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
22. Re:Wow .... by Triklyn · 2015-01-26 07:38 · Score: 1
  
  they probably use a strong friggin detergent to untangle everything too. which ingesting might be... you know, terrible for your insides.
23. Re:Wow .... by Triklyn · 2015-01-26 07:42 · Score: 1
  
  steak from the oven, finish on the pan, or vice versa. medium rare, no grey band, and dragging a fork across the crust sounded like dragging a fork across a brick.
  maybe the crust was a bit too crunchy but hey, it was delicious.
24. Re:Wow .... by Nerrd · 2015-01-26 07:51 · Score: 1
  
  I read the article, and still can't figure out what they are really doing or how they are really gonna use it ...
  The article says quite clearly: The scientific problem they're solving has to do with recovering proteins from test tubes in the lab.
25. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 08:20 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  At the bottom of website you posted:
  
  The FDA now requires that eggs must be packaged and refrigerated within 36 hours. We exceed these newest standards. This minimizes Salmonella from growing in or on the eggs. One should assume, most raw foods may have some level of bacteria and as usual we advise that all eggs be properly cooked to a temperature of 165F to ensure destruction of any Salmonella and to wash hands with soap after handling eggs. After all we do live in a world of microbes.
  Eat safely,
  Phoenix's Egg Farm
  That kinda contradicts your statement.
26. Re:Wow .... by Mr+D+from+63 · 2015-01-26 08:26 · Score: 1
  
  Thank you for that thorough explanation of the process. The intricate details you presented on how it works are quite well articulated.
27. Re:Wow .... by gweihir · 2015-01-26 08:40 · Score: 1
  
  Same here. From the article, I cannot even be sure they can remotely do what the headline implies.
  
  --
  Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
28. Re:Wow .... by TechyImmigrant · 2015-01-26 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  At the bottom of website you posted:
  
  The FDA now requires that eggs must be packaged and refrigerated within 36 hours. We exceed these newest standards. This minimizes Salmonella from growing in or on the eggs. One should assume, most raw foods may have some level of bacteria and as usual we advise that all eggs be properly cooked to a temperature of 165F to ensure destruction of any Salmonella and to wash hands with soap after handling eggs. After all we do live in a world of microbes.
  Eat safely,
  Phoenix's Egg Farm
  That kinda contradicts your statement.
  No. It suggests a lawyer told them to put that there to cover their arses.
  I've been eating their eggs for some years, because I understand their farming practices are sound, so there is a substantially lower risk of salmonella poisoning than from other supplies.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
29. Re: Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 08:49 · Score: 0
  
  I think heston blumanthal did this years ago...
30. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 09:24 · Score: 0
  
  One hint: If you gather the eggs and don't wash them you will not remove the natural coating that keeps infections out or the egg. By washing the eggs we remove that natural coating, which necessitates oiling the shell and refrigerating them. Unwashed eggs will last for a couple of weeks at room temp without issues. Wash the egg right before you use it.
31. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 09:29 · Score: 0
  
  If they were confident that there was ZERO salmonella in their eggs, they wouldn't have to put that disclaimer there and they'd be confident they wouldn't be sued.
  To "cover ones arse" suggests there may arise a situation where it will in fact need covering.
  Also because you've been eating raw eggs for years isn't conclusive proof there is no salmonella in their eggs.
32. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 09:42 · Score: 0
  
  Yeast always been around for beer making and ... feeling good, what's new?
33. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 09:43 · Score: 0
  
  no, Chinese hamster ovary cells. A well-characterized mammalian cell line commonly used in the biotech industry for protein production. The hamster it came from died decades ago.
34. Re:Wow .... by FatdogHaiku · 2015-01-26 09:48 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Sadly if you RTF[A/S] they say:
  
  We start with egg whites boiled for 20 min at 90 C and return a key protein in the egg to working order.
  One key protein does not make an egg.
  And we can be thankful for that! Otherwise we'd end up having brunch with some asshat who wants his eggs "unboiled three minutes, served with bearnaise sauce on the side and two slices of sour dough bread toasted to be crisp but not darkened"... and you end up wondering are they going to spit in everyone's food or just his?
  
  --
  You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
35. Re:Wow .... by cheesybagel · 2015-01-26 09:54 · Score: 1
  
  Ever seen century eggs?
36. Re: Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 09:55 · Score: 0
  
  No one is that confident. No one.
37. Re:Wow .... by Doubting+Sapien · 2015-01-26 09:59 · Score: 1
  
  All jokes aside, maturation of this technique has huge ramifications for the treatment of diseases that are fundamentally due to misfolded proteins. Prion diseases, frightening as they are, might finally have a cure. I would dare say related disorders that involve plaque deposits such as Alzheimer's might also benefit from possible therapeutics.
  
  --
  ========== "Hello World" in my programming language of choice: ATG - LET THERE BE LIFE - TAG ==========
38. Re:Wow .... by TechyImmigrant · 2015-01-26 11:13 · Score: 1
  
  Dang, we'll outsource anything.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
39. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 11:35 · Score: 0
  
  I guess the next step is to un-fry a chicken.
  There's a particular Wendy's that I won't eat at; they seem to have mastered this technique based on what I've been served between two pieces of bread.
  Aka Cock Meat Sandwich....
40. Re:Wow .... by TechyImmigrant · 2015-01-26 12:47 · Score: 1
  
  So go ahead and eat nasty overcooked eggs. Your loss.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
41. Re:Wow .... by TapeCutter · 2015-01-26 13:26 · Score: 1
  
  When I was a kid, and mum and dad weren't at home, my brother and I would eat raw egg yolk mixed with sugar. In one way or another we're all alive due to luck, I prefer not to push mine too much.
  
  --
  And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
42. Re:Wow .... by Sardaukar86 · 2015-01-26 19:27 · Score: 1
  
  sounded like dragging a fork across a brick
  You sir are an enlightened being and I humbly genuflect to your purity of thought. There are few things on this planet as deeply satisfying as an expertly-cooked steak finished as you describe.
  
  maybe the crust was a bit too crunchy
  Unpossible. A good cut of beef cooked nicely in the manner you detail may very well garner generous quantities of post-feeding mouth-beef for the fortunate few able to partake of such steakly goodness, but it is a small price to pay for such an experience.
  
  --
  ..Mullah or Pope, Preacher or Poet, who was it wrote: "Give any one species too much rope and they'll fuck it up"?
43. Re:Wow .... by jabuzz · 2015-01-26 21:43 · Score: 1
  
  Or you could just vaccinate your chickens against salmonella (as the U.K. does for example) and stop worrying about it. If you get salmonella from an egg in the U.K. you have eaten something with cheap nasty foreign eggs.
44. Re:Wow .... by Paul+Bristow · 2015-01-27 00:34 · Score: 1
  
  How do you think the toothpaste gets into the tube in the first place ;-) OK, a nozzle to put toothpaste back inside would find it hard to re-create the stripes.
  Here's an overview of toothpaste manufacturer
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
  
  --
  - Paul
45. Re:Wow .... by dargaud · 2015-01-27 00:45 · Score: 1
  
  As if the price of medications depended on the techniques used to produce them... Ha, you must be new here.
  
  --
  Non-Linux Penguins ?
46. Re:Wow .... by Talderas · 2015-01-27 01:12 · Score: 1
  
  Unless you're unfrying four fried chickens, I'm not interested.
  
  --
  "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
47. Re:Wow .... by Mortiss · 2015-01-27 06:08 · Score: 1
  
  Sadly they do not mention any functional tests on the restored protein. Untangling an egg protein and restoration of function by refolding anti-cancer protein (probably enzyme or an antibody) is in a different league since some proteins require specific chaperone accessory proteins to aid in the folding.
48. Re:Wow .... by doccus · 2015-01-27 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  All jokes aside, maturation of this technique has huge ramifications for the treatment of diseases that are fundamentally due to misfolded proteins. Prion diseases, frightening as they are, might finally have a cure. I would dare say related disorders that involve plaque deposits such as Alzheimer's might also benefit from possible therapeutics.
  And the ultra wealthy have a new way to reverse aging so they can stay young and stupid forever..
49. Re:Wow .... by TechyImmigrant · 2015-01-27 09:58 · Score: 1
  
  Sugar in high enough concentration is toxic to bacteria and humans alike.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
50. Re:Wow .... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-28 07:29 · Score: 0
  
  When I was a kid, and mum and dad weren't at home, my brother and I would eat raw egg yolk mixed with sugar. In one way or another we're all alive due to luck, I prefer not to push mine too much.
  When I was a kid, raw eggs were stored at room temperature in many parts of the United States. This is no longer safe, because there's a new form of bacteria that can infect the inside of eggs. It's a remarkable screw up of the poultry industry that is not talked about much.
Cryptography is lost by MiKom · 2015-01-26 04:42 · Score: 5, Funny

So much for using egg scrambling as analogue to hash functions.
1. Re:Cryptography is lost by sinij · 2015-01-26 04:49 · Score: 1
  
  We will always have car analogies.
2. Re:Cryptography is lost by TWX · 2015-01-26 05:03 · Score: 2
  
  boiling != scrambling. Your analogy is safe for now.
  
  Besides, like brute-force crypto, in some instances it may be possible to un-boil some aspect of the egg, but it appears to be an extremely expensive process carried out by only highly trained professionals and only workable in very specific circumstances, so it's very unlikely that it'll be commonplace in the total number of instances of boiled eggs or encrypted data.
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
3. Re:Cryptography is lost by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:13 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, getting stoned from scrambled eggs sounded too good to be true.
4. Re:Cryptography is lost by Chris+Mattern · 2015-01-26 05:31 · Score: 1
  
  They've unboiled an egg. They haven't unscrambled one.
5. Re:Cryptography is lost by dpilot · 2015-01-26 05:41 · Score: 1
  
  Cars made of memory metals will spoil that one, too. Heat the wreckage to the right temperature, and have it spring back into a car.
  
  --
  The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
6. Re:Cryptography is lost by asliarun · 2015-01-26 05:58 · Score: 2
  
  Yeah, getting stoned from scrambled eggs sounded too good to be true.
  Especially while listening to urea heap.
7. Re:Cryptography is lost by Kaenneth · 2015-01-26 06:25 · Score: 1
  
  Fire makes everything better.
8. Re:Cryptography is lost by DrunkenTerror · 2015-01-26 06:45 · Score: 1
  
  Pass the salt hash, brother.
9. Re:Cryptography is lost by Em+Adespoton · 2015-01-26 07:44 · Score: 1
  
  So much for using egg scrambling as analogue to hash functions.
  Aside from the fact that scrambling != boiling, I think it's still a good analogy; just look at MD4 or other hash functions whose key folding component has been reversed. You can't guarantee that the result is the same as the original state, but it does become the same as a POSSIBLE original state. Same likely goes for the proteins in the egg.
10. Re:Cryptography is lost by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 12:39 · Score: 0
  
  There goes the "This is your brain on drugs" analogy as well.
11. Re:Cryptography is lost by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-27 08:22 · Score: 0
  
  This is why you don't make your hash functions out of memory metal.
Hamster Ovaries by Mystakaphoros · 2015-01-26 04:44 · Score: 5, Funny

Today I learned that cancer antibodies are often made in hamster ovaries. This may be, to date, the most I have ever thought about hamster ovaries.
1. Re:Hamster Ovaries by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  Today I learned that cancer antibodies are often made in hamster ovaries. This may be, to date, the most I have ever thought about hamster ovaries since my last sexual encounter
  FTFY
2. Re:Hamster Ovaries by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:00 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  This may be, to date, the most I have ever thought about hamster ovaries.
  Your xHamster browsing history says otherwise.
3. Re:Hamster Ovaries by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 07:07 · Score: 0
  
  I didn't RTFA but it's likely they are referring to CHO cells. CHO = Chinese Hamster Ovary. CHOs are a cell-line long used to produce recombinant proteins.
  Of course, that doesn't address the question of how someone decided that hamster ovaries were the place to go.
  Also, no word on how high the Chinese Hamster's eyebrows went on being told what was about to happen.
4. Re:Hamster Ovaries by Em+Adespoton · 2015-01-26 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  I think after all the other things the Chinese Hamster has been subject to, it wouldn't actually be all that concerned about this one.
Fix Humpy Dumpty... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 04:47 · Score: 0

Even Four-score Men and Four-score more, could not make Humpty Dumpty where he was before.
This is awesome by Iniamyen · 2015-01-26 04:47 · Score: 2

This is awesome... but more importantly, can they find a way to un-break a yolk?!
1. Re:This is awesome by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 06:19 · Score: 0
  
  Toni Braxton would like to know if they can unbreak her heart.
Unboil a hen egg? by ArcherB · 2015-01-26 04:50 · Score: 5, Funny

'Yes, we have invented a way to unboil a hen egg,
Let me know when they can unboil a rooster egg. Now that will be something.

--
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
1. Re:Unboil a hen egg? by rahvin112 · 2015-01-26 05:06 · Score: 1
  
  If your rooster is laying eggs you've got far bigger problems than them being boiled. ;)
  Yes they should have said chicken egg, not hen's egg.
2. Re:Unboil a hen egg? by Immerman · 2015-01-26 05:06 · Score: 1
  
  That's easy. Find me an egg-laying rooster and I'll not only un-boil its eggs, but un-scramble them as well.
  
  --
  --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
3. Re:Unboil a hen egg? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:09 · Score: 0
  
  Yes they should have said chicken egg, not hen's egg.
  Exactly! And enough of this talk about "mothers" having babies!
4. Re:Unboil a hen egg? by KillAllNazis · 2015-01-26 05:20 · Score: 2
  
  Bloody misandry if you ask me.
5. Re:Unboil a hen egg? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 06:37 · Score: 1
  
  Actually this IS possible.
  Turns out that if there is no rooster, a chicken will slowly morph into a rooster.
  I raised chickens when I was a kid, and had it happen to one of our chickens.
  See http://www.livescience.com/13514-sex-change-chicken-gertie-hen-bertie-cockerel.html
6. Re:Unboil a hen egg? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 09:35 · Score: 0
  
  Roosters will occasionally lay eggs, and in Latin America (and I'm sure other countries as well) it's considered a portent of extremely bad luck.
7. Re:Unboil a hen egg? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 12:13 · Score: 0
  
  Just wear gloves when wielding the cockatrice corpse.
Huh what? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 04:55 · Score: 0

How is that different from pepsin, acid, and warmth in the stomach? Doesn't that do the same thing?
1. Re:Huh what? by GrumpySteen · 2015-01-26 05:22 · Score: 2
  
  No. The digestive process breaks protein down into amino acids. The process described here is meant to keep the protein intact.
isnt it easier just to not boil it? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 04:55 · Score: 0

make it sunny side up in the first place, duh
im sure the academic notes are riveting. by nimbius · 2015-01-26 04:56 · Score: 5, Funny

"Lab journal: Is frank doing this on purpose? our new UC Irvine lab PhD is a fan of eggs. Eggs for brekky, eggs for lunch and tea, eggs at dinner...eggs. Normally im not one to complain about a fellow academics choice of meal but the flatulence is unbearable (worse than the 2002 methane leak and that says a lot.) After confronting him i got the usual, condescending american 'he who smelt it delt it huh buddy?' Yah, Nah. From now on im on a mission. I will un-boil his god damn eggs if its the last thing I ever do."

--
Good people go to bed earlier.
1. Re:im sure the academic notes are riveting. by itzly · 2015-01-26 05:14 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  the flatulence is unbearable (worse than the 2002 methane leak...)
  Methane is odourless. Egg farts stink because of the hydrogen sulfide and similar compounds.
2. Re:im sure the academic notes are riveting. by Akaihiryuu · 2015-01-26 06:19 · Score: 1
  
  Methane itself is odorless. But methane used as fuel (natural gas) has a very smelly sulfur compound added to it so that you will know if there's a leak. Since they said "methane leak" I assume that's what they meant. Your point stands though, a lot of people think methane has a smell because of farts. But farts stink because of hydrogen sulfide and a couple other sulfur compounds.
3. Re:im sure the academic notes are riveting. by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 09:23 · Score: 1
  
  In other words, farts also have a very smelly sulfur compound added so that you know there's a leak.
Not the way my wife cooks eggs... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 04:59 · Score: 0

3 hours at boiling point. Smells like a sulfur mine and gives the worst smelling farts ever.
entropy anyone? by turkeydance · 2015-01-26 05:01 · Score: 1

yeah, closed system, whatever.
1. Re:entropy anyone? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:11 · Score: 0
  
  It wouldn't be the first time an engineer crapped all over someone's high-school-level understanding of entropy.
  And it won't be the last.
2. Re:entropy anyone? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 07:15 · Score: 0
  
  "There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
Earthbound was wrong by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:03 · Score: 0

Guess i really should have invested in the orange kid.
Boiling at 90C? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:10 · Score: 0

Perhaps at 10,000 ft? Who does that?
Boiled at 90C? by magarity · 2015-01-26 05:12 · Score: 2, Interesting

Is their lab at the bottom of death valley or are they using a pressure cooker?
Every time C vs F comes up, the C fans invariably point to C being vastly superior mainly because 100 C is water's boiling point.
1. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:22 · Score: 0
  
  Er, raising pressure increases the boiling point.
2. Re:Boiled at 90C? by itzly · 2015-01-26 05:23 · Score: 2
  
  Higher pressure increases boiling point. And while metric is superior for most things, the Celsius scale is just as arbitrary as Fahrenheit.
3. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:25 · Score: 0
  
  P/T = Boiling Point. Atmospheric pressure and temperature are not inversely related so they could have been at a high altitude to get a lower boiling point. That's why pressure cookers boil at much higher temperatures.
4. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:28 · Score: 0
  
  0 is the freezing point and 100 is the boiling point at normal pressure. How is that arbitrary?
5. Re:Boiled at 90C? by sherr · 2015-01-26 05:56 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  Freezing / boiling point of pure water at sea level. It's a fine way to define a measurement scale, but there are several arbitrary decisions in there. Why water? Why not salt water at ocean-average saltiness? Why sea level? Arbitrary. Convenient perhaps if you're working with scientific applications where 1 atmosphere or pressure is a commonly defined unit, but still arbitrary. Fahrenheit is also arbitrary. It's also perhaps more convenient when dealing with air temperatures. 100 = "It's really hot out there", 0 = "It's really cold out there".
6. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Akaihiryuu · 2015-01-26 06:21 · Score: 1
  
  100C at sea level. Maybe they're at a higher elevation. Lower pressure = lower boiling point.
7. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Trailer+Trash · 2015-01-26 06:31 · Score: 1
  
  Is their lab at the bottom of death valley or are they using a pressure cooker?
  Every time C vs F comes up, the C fans invariably point to C being vastly superior mainly because 100 C is water's boiling point.
  "Boiling an egg" really means "heating it in hot water to cause the yolk and albumen to solidify". That can be done at a temperature far below the boiling point of water. This is good because in the summer local news stations can show how hot it is outside because you can "fry an egg on the sidewalk!" complete with a demonstration.
  If I remember correctly 120F is the temperature needed. I used to make a custard ice cream which included a dozen uncooked egg yolks that couldn't be congealed. In order to accomplish this safely they had to be heated in a double boiler setup to around 105F and held there for 10 minutes which was supposed to be enough to kill the nasty bacteria that might be in there. It was a bit of a trick because if it got much hotter the yolks would congeal and become unusable.
  
  --
  Do you have ESP?
8. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Trailer+Trash · 2015-01-26 06:42 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  0 is the freezing point and 100 is the boiling point at normal pressure. How is that arbitrary?
  LOL. Let me help you:
  1. the freezing point (arbitrary but easily observable state)
  2. of pure water with no dissolved substances (arbitrary but common chemical compound)
  3. at sea level (arbitrary but easily located place)
  4. at normal atmospheric pressure
  5. on earth (arbitrary but very convenient location)
  6. is 0 degrees (arbitrary value which kind of makes sense until you realize that you can still get colder)
  7. and the boiling point of water at sea level on earth at normal atmospheric pressure (previous comments still apply)
  8. is 100 degrees (arbitrary number chosen for convenience of the units - "10" would be too course grained and "1000" would be too fine grained)
  So, yes, the celsius scale is arbitrary, the Fahrenheit only slightly more so. At least the celsius scale can be kind of reproduced in a pinch if you're at sea level and normal pressure and you have water and the ability to freeze and heat it. But, then, if you have all that you can reproduce the Fahrenheit scale, too.
  For an idea of a less arbitrary scale look at the Kelvin scale. On it, "0" is the absolute lowest temperature where matter has absolutely no heat content. Of course the scale is the same as celsius so it still ends up being arbitrary in scale, which *any* temperature scale will be. But "0" being "absolute 0" is what sets it apart.
  
  --
  Do you have ESP?
9. Re:Boiled at 90C? by bws111 · 2015-01-26 06:45 · Score: 1
  
  How is it any less arbitrary than 32 is the freezing point and 212 is the boiling point at normal pressure? The both just (arbitrarily) assign values to specific events.
10. Re:Boiled at 90C? by waterford0069 · 2015-01-26 07:01 · Score: 2
  
  Why pure water? Probably because it's the most common solvent in the world, and integral to life as we know it. And we can consistently make it.
  
  Why not water at the average saltiness of the ocean? To complicated
  1) It's a lot easier to produce "pure" water than it is to adjust the salt content of water to match the average
  2) There is more variation than you would think in the saltiness of the ocean - which would require a lot of sampling, and as we did more sampling, the scale would change, or it would become the average of samples at these 46 points done on this day in 1724.
  3) There is a lot more than just NaCl in the ocean, and you'd have to match that exactly
  4) You'd still have to produce pure water first to reliably create your standard for "sea water" in a lab.
  
  Why sea-level (1.0 ATM / 14.7PSI / etc.)? Probably because it's easy to define and check (it just requires a consistent work).
  
  Compare that to Fahrenheit, which was originally defined by two end points, the freezing point of a fully saturated solution of water and salt (probably at 1 ATM) as 0'F; and human body temperature as 100'F (of course a human's nominal temps differ to the point that we now expect 98.6'F as your body temperature).
  
  Coincidentally, Fahrenheit is now defined by the freezing and boiling points of pure water (at 1 ATM) and pegged at 32'F and 212'G for purely "arbitrary" reasons.
11. Re:Boiled at 90C? by pjt33 · 2015-01-26 07:10 · Score: 1
  
  0[F] = "It's really cold out there".
  I think that should say 68F. At least the phase changes of water are relatively objective.
12. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 07:15 · Score: 0
  
  if you're doing custard, temper your eggs yolks. Basically you add a small amount of hot liquid to the cool, and mix it in and slowly add more of the hot. yolks won't solidify that way.
  Man, I watch way too much of the food network.
13. Re:Boiled at 90C? by jbengt · 2015-01-26 07:25 · Score: 1
  
  Though the numbers assigned and scales used are somewhat arbitrary, using physical phenomena to define temperature scales is not really arbitrary, but rather useful. The International Practical Temperature Scale uses (among other physical points) the triple point of water to define 0.01C, which is just as arbitrary, but more reproducible, than using the freezing point of water at atmospheric pressure to define 0.00C.
14. Re:Boiled at 90C? by TechyImmigrant · 2015-01-26 07:32 · Score: 1
  
  Celsius is only arbitrary if you ignore the fact that it's anchored to two immediately useful temperature for most people in most places.
  Remembers the freezing point and boiling point of water in Kelvin would suck just as much as it does in Fahrenheit. When I've doing physics calculations, I'll use Kelvin, where it's the logical unit leading to the simplest form of equation.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
15. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 07:45 · Score: 0
  
  It's a lot easier to produce "pure" water than it is to adjust the salt content of water to match the average
  But even "pure" water has a very particular definition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Standard_Mean_Ocean_Water
16. Re:Boiled at 90C? by r0kk3rz · 2015-01-26 08:21 · Score: 2
  
  The primary feature of all SI units (excepting the kilogram) is that they are derived experimentally, because, you know, science.
  
  Why water?
  
  Because it's everywhere, and it also can be measured to derive other units, like the Cubic Metre (or its more common non-SI derivative, the Litre).
  
  Why not salt water at ocean-average saltiness?
  Because then you need a way of accounting for the concentration of salt and anything else that might be present in your water sample, where as pure water can be obtained via distillation.
  
  Why sea level?
  Because its easy to account for without various atmospheric pressure measuring equipment
  
  Convenient perhaps if you're working with scientific applications
  That is kind of the point of having scientific units
  
  It's also perhaps more convenient when dealing with air temperatures. 100 = "It's really hot out there", 0 = "It's really cold out there".
  Now that really is arbitrary.
17. Re:Boiled at 90C? by HiThere · 2015-01-26 08:33 · Score: 1
  
  OTOH, air pressure at sea level is a variable which can change significantly in even a short period of time. Still, dramatic changes don't happen, but it's better to measure it in .... sorry, I should be metric, but I only think in PSI (pounds / square inch).
  
  --
  
  I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
18. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Trailer+Trash · 2015-01-26 08:37 · Score: 1
  
  Celsius is only arbitrary if you ignore the fact that it's anchored to two immediately useful temperature for most people in most places.
  Sigh. Please read my post repeatedly until you get it. I never said that "0" and "100" celsius aren't "useful", just that it's entirely arbitrary. Also note that it won't work in "most places" - it only works at sea level at normal atmospheric pressure for pure water. Anything other than that is slightly off.
  
  Remembers the freezing point and boiling point of water in Kelvin would suck just as much as it does in Fahrenheit. When I've doing physics calculations, I'll use Kelvin, where it's the logical unit leading to the simplest form of equation.
  Which again supports my point. For real world use there's little difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit for people who use them. That celsius is based on properties of one chemical compound (out of millions of compounds) really doesn't make it more useful for anything. I mean, if you're at sea level with normal atmospheric pressure and you're boiling a pot of distilled water then you can safely say that it's 100 degrees Celsius. What, exactly, does that gain the normal person? Nothing more than saying it's 212F. Yes, 100 is a pretty and round number but in the real world it is, again, not relevant.
  
  --
  Do you have ESP?
19. Re:Boiled at 90C? by TechyImmigrant · 2015-01-26 08:46 · Score: 1
  
  >Which again supports my point. For real world use there's little difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit for people who use them. That celsius is based on properties of one chemical compound (out of millions of compounds) really doesn't make it more useful for anything.
  I cook with water every day.Stop pretending the boiling point of mercury is just a relevant to most people. It isn't.
  212 isn't a big round number. 100 is.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
20. Re:Boiled at 90C? by radarskiy · 2015-01-26 08:52 · Score: 1
  
  "For an idea of a less arbitrary scale look at the Kelvin scale. On it, "0" is the absolute lowest temperature where matter has absolutely no heat content. "
  It's worse than you think. 0K is currently defined as either 273.16 or 273.15 Kelvins less than the triple point of water. Previously it was defined as a mathematical extrapolation of the ideal gas law.
21. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Trailer+Trash · 2015-01-26 09:39 · Score: 1
  
  I cook with water every day.Stop pretending the boiling point of mercury is just a relevant to most people. It isn't.
  212 isn't a big round number. 100 is.
  Great. How does the fact that water boils at 100C help you when you cook?
  
  --
  Do you have ESP?
22. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 09:45 · Score: 0
  
  What are you using the boiling point of mercury (674F, 357C) for?
  The 100 degree point of the Fahrenheit scale is based off human body temperature (though there was an error, so its typically somewhere around 97-99 actually). I'd say that is just as relevant a temperature to most people as the boiling point of pure water at sea level.
23. Re:Boiled at 90C? by TechyImmigrant · 2015-01-26 10:33 · Score: 1
  
  It's a pretty central fact to cooking. If water boiled at 385 Kelvin, we'd have made 100C = 385K.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
24. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Trailer+Trash · 2015-01-26 14:46 · Score: 1
  
  It's a pretty central fact to cooking.
  Okay. How does the fact that water boils at 100C help you when you cook? Let me state this another way. Imagine that the inventor of the Celsius scale arbitrarily decided that the boiling point of water would be 1000C. What would you do differently when cooking?
  In case you're scratching your head trying to figure out my awesome brain-bender the answer is "nothing".
  
  If water boiled at 385 Kelvin, we'd have made 100C = 385K.
  Okay. So? All arbitrary numbers. Like 32 and 212.
  
  --
  Do you have ESP?
25. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 17:46 · Score: 0
  
  Is their lab at the bottom of death valley or are they using a pressure cooker?
  Every time C vs F comes up, the C fans invariably point to C being vastly superior mainly because 100 C is water's boiling point.
  Yeah, for a bunch of chemistry profs to use "boiling" as 90C makes me wonder if they're related to the Beagle probe programmers.
26. Re:Boiled at 90C? by AJWM · 2015-01-26 17:56 · Score: 1
  
  But "0" being "absolute 0" is what sets it apart.
  Well, sort of. There's also the Rankine scale. On it, 0 is also the absolute lowest temperature (0K = 0R), but the units are the same size as Fahrenheit degrees.
  The only place I've seen it used is in old rocket propulsion texts and similar non-SI thermodynamics stuff.
  
  --
  -- Alastair
27. Re:Boiled at 90C? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 18:11 · Score: 0
  
  BTW, increase in altitude makes things boil at lower temps, not decreases.
Someone has beaten them to it. by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:14 · Score: 0

French food scientist Herve This has beaten them to it, and has been known as "the man who unboiled an egg" for a few years now.
Second link has little to do with the posted topic by smoothnorman · 2015-01-26 05:15 · Score: 1

Yes it deals with Hen Egg-White protein, but it's about overcoming electrostatic barriers to crystallization. The first article involves a urea compound, the second a more esoteric complexed metal compound (Tellurium(VI)-Centred Polyoxotungstate). It's not a direct reference to the first link.
undead by roman_mir · 2015-01-26 05:21 · Score: 3, Funny

So they can restore the denaturated proteins to their original state... which basically is a step towards reviving the dead, however weird that sounds.... Undead chickens will take over.

--
You can't handle the truth.
1. Re:undead by schlachter · 2015-01-26 05:57 · Score: 1
  
  reviving the boiled. sounds very medieval.
  
  --
  My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
2. Re:undead by RivenAleem · 2015-01-26 21:13 · Score: 1
  
  Why did the zombie chicken cross the road?
  Graaaaaaaaiiinnnnss!
Hard-cooked eggs shouldn't be in boiling water by raymorris · 2015-01-26 05:27 · Score: 3, Insightful

Hard-cooked and soft-cooked eggs should be cooked in water just below boiling. Quoting the best selling cookbook in history, Betty Crocker's Cookbook:
2. Heat to boiling in saucepan; REMOVE FROM HEAT. Cover and let stand 18 minutes. Immediately cool briefly in cold water to prevent further cooking. Tap egg to crack shell; roll egg between hands to loosen shell, then peel.
(emphasis mine)
If you keep the water boiling, you get that nasty green film and the albumen becomes rubbery.
1. Re:Hard-cooked eggs shouldn't be in boiling water by geekymachoman · 2015-01-26 20:34 · Score: 1
  
  I keep the water boiling. Never seen anything green. Rubbery .. yes.
Wait by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:29 · Score: 1

Couldn't you just have the chicken eat the egg and just lay a new one?
Unboiling an egg: shoe-in for an ignoble? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:29 · Score: 0

Unboiling an egg....
Man, if that doesn't win an ignobel prize, I don't know what will.
Oh no! by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 05:34 · Score: 0

I realize they are only un-boiling an egg - but, this has disastrous consequences for entropy! When they finally un-crack an egg, does the universe suddenly cease to exist?
oven baked? by schlachter · 2015-01-26 05:56 · Score: 1

Reminds me of the chips that say "Oven Baked" on them. Let me know when they bake chips without an oven.

--
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
1. Re:oven baked? by dinfinity · 2015-01-26 06:15 · Score: 2
  
  Regular chips are fried, not baked.
2. Re:oven baked? by rahvin112 · 2015-01-26 06:44 · Score: 1
  
  If they thought it would sell chips I'm sure they'd find a way.
3. Re:oven baked? by schlachter · 2015-01-26 10:17 · Score: 1
  
  think u missed the point of my post. but, very interesting point you make. chips are fried. hmmmm.
  
  --
  My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
4. Re:oven baked? by Quirkz · 2015-01-26 11:17 · Score: 1
  
  Now I'm going to have to invent sun-baked potato chips, just to prove a point. And make a fortune on the marketing gimmick. I shall call them Sun Chips. No, wait ...
  
  --
  The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
5. Re:oven baked? by dinfinity · 2015-01-26 23:29 · Score: 1
  
  Indeed I did.
  'Oven baked' is by and large a pleonasm and in that sense, you were right.
6. Re:oven baked? by schlachter · 2015-01-27 02:59 · Score: 1
  
  Cool word. I think I will speak in pleonasms all day, just so I can use that word when people comment!
  
  --
  My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
Link to the actual article by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 06:03 · Score: 0

The published findings link in the blurb is to the wrong paper, here is the link to the abstract for the actual article.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cbic.201402427/abstract
Re:Second link has little to do with the posted to by OverlordQ · 2015-01-26 06:04 · Score: 2

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com...

--
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
Correct paper link by OverlordQ · 2015-01-26 06:06 · Score: 4, Informative

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com...

--
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
Obligitory by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 06:26 · Score: 0

"That's great! But how do they taste?"
"That's the best part! We've already gotten calls from three of the airlines."
But ... by l0ungeb0y · 2015-01-26 06:28 · Score: 1

Can it turn your toast back into bread again?
1. Re:But ... by frank_adrian314159 · 2015-01-26 08:17 · Score: 1
  
  Probably not. Your toast, besides having changes in its protein structures, has other physical changes that still can't be undone - we can't convert caramelized sugar back into it's regular form because a portion of that sugar has burned to carbon (part of what forms the color of the toasted bread), the fats burns, as do, actually, some of the proteins.
  But this research does show what could be achieved with judicious use of nanotechnology - perhaps burnt areas could be classified, their carbon atoms mapped, their most likely molecules derived and those molecules reconstructed by a goo that, when heated, turns into raspberry jam. All-in-all, great progress towards the worldwide burnt toast scourge has been forged.
  More seriously, wouldn't you just love to have your work (which you've probably spent years in creating) become the butt of a bunch of stupid food jokes because your stupid press office came up with this stupid examples of untangling proteins? Poor, poor researchers... What a world.
  
  --
  That is all.
Herve This - French chef/chemist by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 06:39 · Score: 0

has been doing this for a while.
Next up... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 06:41 · Score: 0

unbuttering toast.
Lysozome used for a reason by dciman · 2015-01-26 07:10 · Score: 1

Lysozyme is a very robust protein found in hen egg whites. This process is going to be VERY difficult to apply to other proteins.
Even with purified lysozyme, you can boil it for extended amounts of time and it will refold on it's own just fine... in very short time scales. You can lyophilize it down to a powder, store it for years, add water... and it will refold and be active. (Lysozyme is an enzyme that degrades bacterial cell walls.)
Queue XKCD's Clumsy Foreshadowing by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 07:48 · Score: 0

I swear I saw an article about this playing on a tv in the background of a scene in "World War Z"
http://xkcd.com/1387/
1. Re:Queue XKCD's Clumsy Foreshadowing by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 20:19 · Score: 0
  
  Cue. The word you are lazily grasping for is cue.
  A Queue is quite different; formed when overweight North Americans fall into an orderly line at the vending window of an establishment purveying (say) jelly doughnuts.
  Mmmm, doughnuts..
In related news.. by Megahard · 2015-01-26 08:11 · Score: 1

Humpty-Dumpty reported to be put back together again.

--
I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
Already done almost 20 years ago... by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 09:40 · Score: 0

By french scientist Hervé This :
http://observer.theguardian.com/foodmonthly/futureoffood/story/0,,1969723,00.html
Next up: by jpellino · 2015-01-26 15:37 · Score: 1

Un-ringing a bell. Stay tuned.

--
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Groundbreaking geographical discovery by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-26 16:00 · Score: 0

What's that Skip? Austria =/= Australia; and on Australia Day of all days!
oven baked? by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-27 00:59 · Score: 0

I'm impressed by the effort your chip producer goes to. When I buy chips it usually says "Oven Baked" on the bag, not the chips....
Method to untangle proteins, Not unboiling an egg by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-27 08:05 · Score: 0

The text of this story is misleading. They didn't unboil an egg. They "unboiled" a single protein that happened to be isolated from egg white. First they denatured an enzyme, lysosyme, with heat -- not new. They they unfolded the resultant protein using urea (or something similar) -- standard procedure. Then they demonstrated how to get the protein to refold into its active conformation relatively quickly -- that is the new part. If you are a protein chemist this is interesting, otherwise not so much.