A nano-gear in a nano-motor inside you
Thursday, January 17, 2013 - 12:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Diverse cellular processes require many tiny force-generating motor proteins to work in a team. Paradoxically, nature often chooses the weak and inefficient dynein motor to generate large persistent forces inside cells. Here we show that a reason for this choice may be dynein's special ability to speed up or slow down depending on the load it senses.