150 Water near proteins and interfaces: a new molecular perspective.

Water the solvent of life plays an important role in biological assembly and organization. Folding of proteins, formation of micelles and membranes, and molecular recognition in biological systems are all 'water-mediated' processes, in which molecular structure and organization of water can drive thermodynamics and guide the mechanics of assembly. However, understanding the molecular details of mediation of biological interactions by water has remained a significant challenge. Here I will focus on one central piece of this challenge, namely that of characterizing the hydration of chemically heterogeneous nanoscale interfaces of proteins from a molecular perspective.