A team of researchers from Germany and the Netherlands have determined the structure of an amyloid fibril with previously unachieved resolution. The fibrils of the body’s own amyloid beta (Aβ) protein are the main constituent of Alzheimer’s disease related and characteristic pathological protein deposits in the brain. The atomic-level three-dimensional structure elucidated by scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, the Centre for Structural Systems Biology in Hamburg, and Maastricht University displays previously unknown structural details which can answer many questions on the growth of harmful deposits and also explain the effect of genetic risk factors. The results have been published in the renowned journal Science.