On the cover: Inspired by Helma af Klimt's The Swan, No 8, this cover plays on the themes of transcendence and duality in order to highlight the central innovation of the presented work -- disrupting the symmetry of an established protein architecture. In The Swan collection, af Klimt employs increasingly abstract symmetric motifs in order to represent transcendence beyond the limits of human capability. The cover comments on the endless structural and therapeutic possibilities surrounding protein architectures. Breaking the symmetry of a protein cage, pushes the limits of protein-based assemblies and expands the existing design space.

Image credit: Nika Gladkov.

Publication: Design of a symmetry-broken tetrahedral protein cage by a method of internal steric occlusion.
Gladkov, N., Scott, E.A., Meador, K., Lee, E.J., Laganowsky, A.D., Yeates, T.O.#, Castells-Graells, R.#
Protein Science (2024) doi.org/10.1002/pro.4973