clhs sciblog

Some animals, bacteria, and other organisms that live in extremely cold environments have an antifreeze protein that keeps them from freezing. The study that was conducted can not only help understand how to stop the growth of ice crystals in the organism’s body, but also the super-heating of  crystals.  The research provided some experimental information that  superheated ice crystals can be stabilized above the melting point for hours, at a maximum temperature of about .5 degree Celsius. This is rare because normally these crystals do not stay stabilized for a long period of time, and only under certain conditions. To track the protein on the crystal, the researchers attached a second protein which glows in some conditions.     Then they placed the antifreeze protein solution in the thin cell, to observe the fluorescence from the protein while controlling the ice crystal’s temperature. Read more here.

The development of the ability to suppress ice melting and ice growth is very advanced. It may not seem like this is very important, but on the contrary, it will effect our everyday lives. This new development could revolutionize the frozen food industry. It can help to prevent the dangers of foods thawing and refreezing. I’m sure there are many other ways this is important.

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