Nano-motor with a light switch: Light-triggered myosin allows real-time study of cells
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 - 15:30
in Biology & Nature
(PhysOrg.com) -- Molecular "motors" are at the root of most biological movement. They propel cell components, whole cells, and even our muscles on command. Barbara Imperiali and a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Virginia, and the National Institutes of Health have now provided the motor protein myosin with an on switch that is activated by light. As the scientists report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, this should make it possible to follow cellular processes that involve myosin in real time.