To mark MIT’s 150th anniversary, the MIT Biology Department presented a forum on “The Evolution of Protein Structures” on Wednesday, May 1, 2011, 1 at 4 p.m. in Room 32-123 in the Ray and Maria Stata Center.  The forum highlighted recent advances in understanding how proteins, extraordinary molecular machines that form the basis of all life processes, have evolved. Lecturers include Prof. Phillip A. Sharp, Institute Professor in The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research on “Split gene structure and protein function”; Prof. Amy E. Keating, of the MIT Department of Biology on “The alpha helical coiled coil: An ancient and versatile protein structure”; Prof. Thomas U. Schwartz of the MIT Biology Department on “Protein conservation without sequence conservation: Membrane coats”; and Prof. Jonathan King, of the MIT Biology Department, on “Evolution of the Greek key eye lens crystallins.”