New research explores how proteins produced by a common fungus trigger ice nucleation at warm temperatures ... revealing that they are made up of small protein subunits and play a role in both ...

Researchers knew that a particular protein on the microbes’ membranes was somehow responsible for making ice form. The team found that this ice nucleation protein, inaZ, acts as a mold for ice ...

“You can think of it as covering the entire protein universe,” said Demis Hassabis ... Leads to frost damage on plants by triggering ice crystals at relatively high temperatures.

In fact the key process is called ice nucleation, by which ice forms around something, whether it's a protein or bacteria. Using bacteria or additives, it's possible to freeze water into ice at ...

This is because water molecules require particles on which to build the crystals that lead to ice, a process called nucleation ... they are made up of small protein subunits and play a role ...