"Unraveling the Mystery of Nature's First Fractal Molecule"
Researchers have discovered a fractal-forming enzyme produced by a cyanobacterium, which assembles into a Sierpiński triangle, a pattern not previously observed in molecules. The structure appears to be a rare accident of evolution, with no discernible biological function. It takes only a few mutations for the molecule to alter its shape, and the fractal pattern has emerged and disappeared in different species of cyanobacteria multiple times in the past. The findings suggest that evolutionary transitions in self-assembly may be more common than previously thought, with many unique assemblies evolving over time but not persisting.