Program Structural Biology and Crystallography Crystals can be formed from a variety of substances.
Protein crystals are one type.
As we will discuss, one of the reasons they are investigated is to understand how a virus attacks our cells. Many diseases are associated with protein dysfunction. Sickle cell anemia, for example, is a hereditary human disorder caused by a defective form of the protein hemoglobin. Viruses inject their genetic material into healthy human cells. The viral proteins that are expressed can be detrimental to the infected host.