Nature's origami: Understanding folding helps to analyze the self-structuring of molecules, organs and surfaces.

A ll life from viruses to blue whales relies on folding processes that can have fatal consequences when they go wrong. At the molecular level, folding is involved in DNA packaging and the fundamental process by which proteins assume their structural conformation and thereby function. At the cellular and tissue level, many plants depend on folding to prevent pollen grains from drying up through evaporation, while for animals, it plays a crucial role in the development of various organs, including the gut and the mammalian brain. At all these levels, recent progress has yielded a better understanding of both the role and the process of folding, as well as how and why it can fail. ...................................................... “. . . brain folding evolved because it was advantageous for neural processing of higher brain functions such as memory, perception, consciousness, language or thought.” ......................................................