Proteins are crucial to almost every fundamental biological process necessary for life. They do everything from create and maintain the shape of cells to serving as both signal and receiver for cellular communications. Proteins are composed on long chains of amino acids and they perform their varied tasks by folding themselves into precise 3D structures that determine how they function and interact with other molecules. Because their exact shape is so crucial to their function research into uncovering the exact shape is a central task to molecular biology. This task is especially important for the development of lifesaving and life-altering medicines.