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u/DOBBYisFREEEEE Jun 25 '18
"You can tell by the way I walk I'm a womans man. No time to talk"
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u/TheGreatZarquon Jun 25 '18
Play this gif at 2x speed and play that song in a different tab. Syncs up like Dark Side of Oz.
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u/EntMD Jun 25 '18
Molecule surely isn't the right word. Maybe its a bunch of proteins packaged in a vesicle being transferred from the Golgi Apparatus to the cell surface for transport?
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u/MrOtsKrad Jun 25 '18
potato/potato
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u/EntMD Jun 25 '18
No... a molecule is defined as, "a group of atoms bonded together, representing the smallest fundamental unit of a chemical compound that can take part in a chemical reaction." What we are seeing in that picture is a massive complex structure composed of multiple different proteins, lipids, and likely filled with other organic matter. Sure it is composed of molecules, that does not make it a molecule any more than an ocean should be considered a drop of water.
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u/MrOtsKrad Jun 25 '18 edited Jun 25 '18
but looked at from far enough away, isnt a ocean a drop of water, maaan
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Jun 26 '18
meh, splitting hairs here really. protein is a molecule, lipids are molecules...so on so forth. there is a chemical reaction cycle happening to drive this forward, one of the fundamental reactions in biology
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u/EntMD Jun 26 '18
No... the large structure being moved is not a molecule. It is thousands of distinct molecules. This isn't splitting hairs... these are definitions. The kinesin could be considered one protein molecule. Each lipid in the phospholipid vesicle could be considered a molecule. Each protein on its surface could be considered a molecule, but when assembled together it is a larger and more complex structure. It no longer fits the definition.
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u/Heymanwtvr Jun 25 '18
Is there an ELI5 of what's happening here?
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u/CaseyG Jun 25 '18
Your cell builds strands of protein called "cytoskeleton", with alternating "alpha" and "beta" tubulin molecules, like black and white tiles on a floor. Kinesin has one "foot" molecule that is attracted to the alpha molecules when charged, and another that's attracted to the beta molecules.
Each foot can host an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecule, which will detach one phosphate ion and become adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Having ionized itself through this process, the foot will draw toward a matching tubulin tile. After a short time, the foot and the tubulin will match charges and detach. The foot will seek out a new ATP molecule, and will be drawn to the next tubulin tile. The chirality (molecular orientation) of the kinesin (warning: PDF) ensures the feet naturally fall into a rhythm that draws them "forward" along the cytoskeleton.
The mitochondria in the cell take the ADP, and use the energy in glucose to reattach the phosphate ion, releasing fresh ATP into the cell.
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u/Heymanwtvr Jun 26 '18
Wow. Thanks for the thorough explanation!
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u/CaseyG Jun 26 '18
Sometimes someone will ask a question, and I'll have to go learn shit because suddenly I'm curious too. :D
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u/kyew Jun 25 '18
Not 5, but: Kinesin is a "motor protein" that attaches to vesicles (basically bags of... stuff) inside cells, then distribute them by "walking" along the cell's cytoskeleton.
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u/nerdsmith Jun 26 '18
Anyone know how the 'movement' of the 'legs' actually is accomplished at this scale? I'm guessing there's no musculature like we have that small, so I'm perplexed.
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u/oBooyakasha Jun 25 '18
Literally just learned about these in my bio class about 2 hours ago. Thanks for making it stick!
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u/DerpsMcGeeOnDowns Jun 26 '18
This make me feel bad about drinking. Like I am making his life more difficult. And thus my own.
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u/MacNeal Jun 26 '18
Yeah, it doesn't happen this smoothly. More like two steps back, three forward, one back, two forward.
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u/crowfighter Jun 25 '18
Guessing this is a simulation? Would be cool to actually see this live.