In living systems, molecules called molecular motors convert chemical energy into mechanical motion, and are essential for many life processes including intracellular transport, cell division, and muscle contraction. Myosin V is a type of molecular motor that transports cargo through cells by "walking" along filaments.
Here's a diagram that shows a clearer picture of what's happening. It's amazing that they were able to capture video of such a tiny phenomenon, its steps are only 74nm and it 'walks' at ~380 nm/s.
And a rendered video of the process in a white blood cell (leukocyte). I linked to the relevant time, but recommend watching the entire thing.
Video of individual carbon atoms was featured previously on the blog.
1 comment:
Fucking amazing and we can actually see it!
Post a Comment