sentences:  Statistical potentials are used as energy functions in the assessment of an ensemble of structural models produced by homology modeling or protein threading - predictions for the tertiary structure assumed by a particular amino acid sequence made on the basis of comparisons to one or more homologous proteins with known structure.Many differently parameterized statistical potentials have been shown to successfully identify the native state structure from an ensemble of "decoy" or non-native structures.Statistical potentials are not only used for protein structure prediction, but also for modelling the protein folding pathway.