Shape mismatch in self assembly leads to fiber-like aggregates*

Aggregating proteins tend to form fibers, often for the worse - think of Alzheimer's disease. Could this propensity to form fibers be a generic physical property of irregular aggregating objects, rather than something specific to protein chemistry? We investigate the aggregation of simple ill-fitting, deformable objects and find that geometrical frustration can lead to self-assembly into slender aggregates.