Monday's Molecule #63

 
Today's molecule is a cartoon depicting a particular conformation of molecules. Your task is to identify the structure. Be as specific as possible.

There's an indirect connection between this molecule and Wednesday's Nobel Laureate(s). Your task is to figure out the significance of today's structure and identify the Nobel Laureate(s) who is associated with discovering it. (Be sure to check previous Laureates.)

The reward goes to the person who correctly identifies the structure and the Nobel Laureate(s). Previous winners are ineligible for one month from the time they first collected the prize. There are three ineligible candidates for this week's reward. The prize is a free lunch at the Faculty Club.

THEME:

Nobel Laureates
Send your guess to Sandwalk (sandwalk(at)bioinfo.med.utoronto.ca) and I'll pick the first email message that correctly identifies the structure and the Nobel Laureate(s). Note that I'm not going to repeat Nobel Laureates so you might want to check the list of previous Sandwalk postings.

Correct responses will be posted tomorrow along with the time that the message was received on my server. I may select multiple winners if several people get it right.

Comments will be blocked for 24 hours. Comments are now open.

UPDATE: We have a winner. The molecule is a depiction of a (right-handed) α helix, one of the most common examples of secondary structure in proteins. Linus Pauling proposed it in 1948 and he won the Nobel Prize in 1954 for his work on chemical bonds.

The winner is David J. Schuller of Cornell University.

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