Concepts in protein folding

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Abstract
Certain concepts and misconceptions in the field of protein folding are discussed from the viewpoint of a theoretical physicist. It is argued that there can be no protein folding code and that perceived correlations between sequence or composition and three-dimensional structure are more likely to be an artefact of a limited database than a real result. Attempts at using molecular dynamics algorithms are also likely to produce artefactual results because results depend critically on the unknown hamiltonian energy function. Correct calculations of configurational entropy are thought to be the most likely next step in understanding how and why proteins fold.