10 ms·

Interesting topic, but I don't find the answer to the headline in the text.

• forgotpwd16 4y ago
  The answer is in the concluding paragraph. >It began as an applied area of mathematics, with Thomson attempting to use knots to understand the makeup of matter. As that idea faded, it became an area of pure mathematics, a branch of the intriguing and still unpractical domain of topology. Basically because they're interesting. A better headline will've been something like "knot landscape in mathematics" since it covers the knot theory history and advancements.
• MonkeyClub 4y ago
  You're sort of right. In one sense, the answer is right there in the subtitle: > knot theory has driven many findings in math and beyond. The article then proceeds with mentions of possible applications in Chemistry, "to understand the makeup of matter" (and makes no mention of protein folding overall - is knot theory not used there?). But other than that, the paper is just a gentle introduction to knots, with little to no direct relation to the title. Perhaps an editor thought a "Why ..." title was better/more clickbaity?
  • gilleain 4y ago
    > protein folding overall - is knot theory not used there? To my knowledge, no. There has been some analysis done on knots in folded proteins: https://www.umass.edu/microbio/chime/knots/index.htm https://www.umass.edu/microbio/chime/knots/index.htm (particularly by Prof. Taylor) but this is not the same as using knot theory for analysing the folding process or for predicting folds.