A general discovery in protein science in the past few decades has been the finding that a number of unrelated proteins and peptides all have a marked propensity to form amyloid fibrilsin vivoandin vitro. These structures have become known as the pathological hallmark of some of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases. More recently, the process of amyloid formation has been demystified through a number of key mechanistic findings, some of which are highlighted in this themed collection.