Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
News and Views
Nature 415, 129-131 (10 January 2002) | doi:10.1038/415129a
Molecular motors: Stretching the lever-arm theory
Michael A. Geeves
Top of page
Abstract
Motor proteins are essential to life: without them, all cellular transport would grind to a halt. New results on the size of steps taken by one family of motors, the myosins, will fuel the debate about how they move.
Most organisms, whether they consist of a single cell or billions, can move in a directed way, an ability that is largely attributed to molecular motor proteins. Of these, myosin II is perhaps the best understood, because of its role in muscle contraction.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).