Is Brownian Motion The Secret Of Life After All?

mindpixel writes: "unisci is reporting research from Georga Tech that suggest the the key motor protein ATP works by 'rectified browian motion' as a kind of thermally driven nano-ratchet. The researchers said "We're arguing that Brown really had discovered the secret of life ... When you get into this sub-cellular level on the nanometer scale, the dynamics and vitality of protein molecules is really due to thermal motion." The implications for nanotech are obvious."

Comments

well, not quite

[oldbox]

While ATP is a universal energy-storing molecule, kinesins, the "motor proteins" mentioned above are only found in eucaryotes. A much more universal molecule, the basis of all life if not the "secret of life" that the above article makes such a big deal about is ATPase (aka ATP synthase). The structure of F1F0-ATP synthase was deduced a few years ago, and won Prof. Paul Boyer and Dr. John Walker a Nobel Prize. The press release provides a good introduction to the discovery, and it's importance.

Interestingly, ATPase is a nano-scale rotor/generator. There are some great movies of the proposed operation from a berkley server. The ATP synthase motor is driven by the flow of protons from an area of high to a low concentration. Therefore it is not brownian motion directly, but osmosis that powers all life.

biobox

Brown

[zoombah]

Robert Brown didn't discover the secret of life. He simply observed and identified what we now call Brownian motion; he did not go far in mathematically developing his discovery. Einstein and Desaulx were the ones who truly quantified and detailed Brownian motion, I think that they are the ones who truly deserve the credit for "discovering the essence of life", if any credit is due.