Natural Antifreeze Keeps Beetles Unfrozen

The researchers studied the antifreeze protein of the mealworm beetle to understand how the protein latches onto tiny ice crystals and keeps them from growing larger. (Credit: Akil Rolle-Rowan/shutterstock)Without an insulating coat of fat or fur, what’s an insect to do to survive cold winters? Some insects, like the mealworm beetle, are blessed with antifreeze proteins that keep them from freezing from the inside out.For decades, scientists knew this natural antifreeze existed, but they only had a vague idea of how it worked. Somehow, the proteins attach to tiny ice crystals that begin forming in cold water to keep the crystals from growing larger and harming the insect.Chemists at the University of Utah and the University of California San Diego used computer simulations of antifreeze proteins and water to understand what’s going on at a molecular level. They found that the protein molecules just need to be parallel to ice ...