I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
Psalm 139:14
"Water conducts electricity; it can also conduct energy and information.
Biophysicists are finding that “water wires” at the nanoscale fine-tune enzymatic actions — indeed, can be indispensable for function.
... a remarkable fact about dynein, one of the molecular machines that “walks” on microtubules.
The scientist in that story theorized that water molecules bind to the stalk and help transmit kinetic energy via “water waves” from the reaction center, where ATP is spent, to the “feet” where walking takes place. The water molecules are so positioned as to create a virtual “tsunami” of energy from one end of the machine to the other, which causes the feet to move.
Obviously, this requires very precise cooperation between the water molecules and the amino acids in the stalk. Now, other instances are coming to light of biological systems incorporating water molecules into their functional specificity.
The purpose of membrane channels is to permit certain molecules through the cell membrane but prohibit others. This is called active transport, because normally molecules would move by diffusion (passive transport). Cells need to both attract the right molecules to go through the channel and authenticate them through the
“selectivity filter.”
Water can assist this process via electricity.
Since H2O is bipolar, single water molecules in a chain, held together by hydrogen bonds, become a sort of “wire” through which ions can pass.
Gramicidin A (gA), discovered in 1939, is a linear peptide antibiotic produced by Bacillus brevis. Unlike most peptides, gA consists of alternating left- and right-handed amino acid residues. This gives it a spiral helical shape that penetrates the bacterium’s membrane, forming a pore that looks like a spiral staircase. This allows for the free passage of cations (positively charged ions) to neutralize the pH of the interior and exterior. “The antimicrobial activity,” the authors explain, “derives from its ability to form a transmembrane channel that is selective for monovalent cations.” It is a simple “channel” to use for studying the activity of a water wire."
EN&V
Psalm 139:14
"Water conducts electricity; it can also conduct energy and information.
Biophysicists are finding that “water wires” at the nanoscale fine-tune enzymatic actions — indeed, can be indispensable for function.
... a remarkable fact about dynein, one of the molecular machines that “walks” on microtubules.
The scientist in that story theorized that water molecules bind to the stalk and help transmit kinetic energy via “water waves” from the reaction center, where ATP is spent, to the “feet” where walking takes place. The water molecules are so positioned as to create a virtual “tsunami” of energy from one end of the machine to the other, which causes the feet to move.
Obviously, this requires very precise cooperation between the water molecules and the amino acids in the stalk. Now, other instances are coming to light of biological systems incorporating water molecules into their functional specificity.
The purpose of membrane channels is to permit certain molecules through the cell membrane but prohibit others. This is called active transport, because normally molecules would move by diffusion (passive transport). Cells need to both attract the right molecules to go through the channel and authenticate them through the
Water can assist this process via electricity.
Since H2O is bipolar, single water molecules in a chain, held together by hydrogen bonds, become a sort of “wire” through which ions can pass.
Gramicidin A (gA), discovered in 1939, is a linear peptide antibiotic produced by Bacillus brevis. Unlike most peptides, gA consists of alternating left- and right-handed amino acid residues. This gives it a spiral helical shape that penetrates the bacterium’s membrane, forming a pore that looks like a spiral staircase. This allows for the free passage of cations (positively charged ions) to neutralize the pH of the interior and exterior. “The antimicrobial activity,” the authors explain, “derives from its ability to form a transmembrane channel that is selective for monovalent cations.” It is a simple “channel” to use for studying the activity of a water wire."
EN&V
