Bacterial engines have their own clutch


	Bacterial engines have their own clutch

Silkweaver

6-20-2008 8:30 PM

302 views

tags:

molecular biology, nano machines

Silkweaver says:

Just an interesting fact how designs made by evolution already predated almost any mechanical trick we have invented, or thought we did.

Add a Comment

Login to Comment. Not a member yet? Sign up

View the Top Clips from June 20, 2008

Embed This Clip In Your Site...

<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/1939cd8b-2ce5-4455-b5b8-f808c3c37f10/3B010726-A1E0-4270-BBA6-0473CE3726E4/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html" href="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html" style="font-size: 11px;">www.nature.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html">Microbes don't hit the brakes to stop; they just pump the clutch.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html"><div align="center"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.nature.com/img/1830C2D0-9A65-4258-BF08-8726A55F1A85" alt="Bacillus subtilis" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html">When a bacterium wants to settle down, it uses a molecular 'clutch' to disengage its propulsion system, researchers have found. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html">No one had previously worked out how bacteria turn off their flagella, the spinning tails that they use to move around. The discovery could lead to a way to keep bacteria moving in places we’d rather they didn’t linger, such as medical equipment.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html">Molecular motor</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html"><SPAN class="i">epsE </SPAN> attaches to a rotor protein at the flagellum’s base that is driven by protons flowing into the cell. To stop cells moving, it bends the rotor molecule so that it no longer touches the proton motor, the researchers report in <SPAN class="i">Science </SPAN><SUP><A href="#B1" linkindex="20" set="yes">1</A></SUP>. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html">The flagellum is still free to turn — hence the description of <SPAN class="i">epsE </SPAN> as a clutch, and not a brake — but friction rapidly brings the cell to a halt.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080619/full/news.2008.903.html">Some nanotechnologists have dreamed of harnessing bacterial rotors as molecular pumps, he adds. If that ever happened, <SPAN class="i">epsE </SPAN> could be a useful regulator. </blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/3B010726-A1E0-4270-BBA6-0473CE3726E4/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

Clipmarks: Home; New Clips; Top Clips; Dashboard

Popular Topics: News; Life; Science; Technology; Entertainment

Get Started: Sign Up; Install Clipping Tool; How Clipping Works; Clip-to-Blog™; ClipSearch

Tools and Resources: FAQ; ClipWeek; Top Clippers; Top Tags; Site Map

About Clipmarks: About Us; Contact; Blog; Copyright; Privacy; EULA

Search Options

Related Clips

More clips from Silkweaver

Today's Top Clips