The process by which proteins lose their native three-dimensional structure due to external factors like heat, pH changes, or chemical agents. The protein unfolds but the primary sequence remains intact.
From Latin 'de-' (removal) and 'natura' (nature), literally meaning 'removal of natural state.' First used in the early 1900s when scientists observed that heating egg whites made them permanently white and solid.
Denaturation is like taking a carefully folded origami crane and shaking it until it becomes a flat piece of paper again! The amazing thing is that the 'paper' (amino acid sequence) is completely unchanged - only the folding pattern is lost.
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