Nano springs eternal; Protozoan ‘engine’ posts nano records

Gram for gram, the power of the spasmoneme engine outperforms human muscles and car engines.

It also runs on a different fuel. Molecular motors that power muscle contraction, for example, use ATP molecules for energy. The spasmoneme runs on calcium, but its drive mechanism was poorly understood until France and colleagues got under the nano hood. Like van Leeuwenhoek, the researchers studied Vorticella under the microscope but they also had specialized biochemical methods to slow and inhibit the contraction, to freeze-frame it, and to discern details of the calcium fuel system.

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