Dr. Konrad Meister (BMOL Faculty) was recently a part of a collaborative team that published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on the Hierarchical assembly and environmental enhancement of bacterial ice nucleators. Here, Dr. Meister and others elucidate the hierarchical assembly mechanism that explains the distinct ice nucleation temperatures of bacteria and their sensitivity to environmental factors. Ice nucleating proteins (INPs) are very effective in promoting the kinetically hindered transition of water to ice. The research team demonstrated the enhancement of the ice nucleation potency of bacteria by controlling the pH and ionic content, increasing their potential use in freezing applications.