Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40741902›Full record

ArticleBiochemistry and molecular biology education : a bimonthly publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Undergraduate Students' Misconceptions About Protein Structure and Function Stem From Challenges in Visuospatial Reasoning.

Bridget D Owusu, Laurie A Stargell, Josie Otto, Meena M Balgopal

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biochemistry and molecular biology education : a bimonthly publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Undergraduate Students' Misconceptions About Protein Structure and Function Stem From Challenges in Visuospatial Reasoning.Biochemistry and molecular biology education : a bimonthly publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Bridget D OwusuDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0009-0001-7304-7972
Laurie A StargellDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9331-3748
Josie OttoGraduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0009-0003-5210-9091
Meena M BalgopalGraduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3846-9256

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Understanding the structure and function of proteins is crucial for students as it provides fundamental insights into one of the central building blocks of life. Yet, undergraduate students struggle to make sense of proteins and apply knowledge about why structure affects function. Here, we expand on an existing typology of common protein misconceptions (Robic, 2010). We recruited participants from a large, lecture-based non-major biochemistry course to participate in a series of assessments that allowed us to qualitatively examine their responses. We found that the common misconceptions included: protein stability based on orientation, confusions about the dynamic properties of proteins, and protein structure related to function. We surmise that all three of these newly reported, nuanced misconceptions are the product of difficulties with visuospatial reasoning.

Indexed as

BiochemistryProteinsStudentsFemaleHumansMaleProtein ConformationUniversitiesProteinsmisconceptionsprotein structure and functionundergraduatesvisuospatial reasoning

Identifiers

PMID40741902
PMCPMC12671271

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.