In 1981 Jane S. Richardson published "The Anatomy and Taxonomy of Protein Structure", which strongly influenced the scientific community to agree on a general way to represent protein structures - the ribbon diagrams. Today, proteins are generally represented in a few different ways - ribbon diagrams, as surface, ball/stick models, backbone, etc.

I strongly believe these representations have an effect on how we think about proteins, despite being aware that these are "pretty good" models and not accurate physical representations.

As I read "Model of Alpha 2-Macroglobulin Structure and Function" I was very impressed by the representations of the alpha 2-macroglobulin and its mechanism of action, in part because the drawings look like old anatomical drawings which I am very fond of, and in part because it gave me a "different feel" for the protein.

I am curious about other people's opinions and knowledge on the topic. Is any of you familiar with other protein representations? How do you think these representations affect our thought?

Any historical knowledge about proteins or more drawings would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

~Max

Feldman, S. R., S. L. Gonias, and S. V. Pizzo. "Model of Alpha 2-Macroglobulin Structure and Function." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 82.17 (1985): 5700-4. Print.

http://www.pnas.org/content/82/17/5700.full.pdf