Texas, Feb. 7 -- Collagen, the body's most abundant protein, has long been considered a predictable structural component of tissues.

However, a new study led by Rice University's Jeffrey Hartgerink and Tracy Yu, in conjunction with Mark Kreutzberger and Edward Egelman at the University of Virginia (UVA), challenges that notion, finding an unexpected confirmation in collagen structure that has the potential to radically reshape biomedical research.

The researchers used advanced cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine the atomic structure of a packed collagen assembly that deviates from the traditionally accepted right-handed superhelical twist. Published Feb. 3 in ACS Central Science, the study suggests collagen's structural dive...