Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics (RAP) have,for the first time, successfully used a terahertz laser to induce permanent changes in the conformation of a polymer, or giving it an increased sample of crystallization. Conformational changes are very principal for macromolecular science because they can change the characteristics of a material and,in the case of proteins, can execute it either possible or impossible for them to perform a certain biological function. The work, and done in collaboration with Osaka University,was published in Scientific Reports.
Source: phys.org