PASSAGE the spider climb obstacle for potassium. For a cell to exist, it must have an inside and an outside. The cell membrane is the boundary that separates these two regions, and without which, there is no cell. But the cell membrane must allow passage of substances such as nutrients and minerals. The potassium channel is a cell membrane protein whose selectively filter allows the entry of potassium ions and only potassium. The basis for this selectivity was a mystery, solved by MacKinnon whose work won the 2003 Nobel Prize for Chemistry (along with Agre - for work on the water channel). Curiously, a parallel for the solution is seen in the “spider climb,” an obstacle from the American Ninja Reality TV show, where an athlete must ascend a channel between two parallel walls, pressing their hands and feet against the walls and moving up with small jumps. To learn more, visit www.biostainedglass.com/bio-stained-glass/831/13.
PASSAGE the spider climb obstacle for potassium. For a cell to exist, it must have an inside and an outside. The cell membrane is the boundary that separates these two regions, and without which, there is no cell. But the cell membrane must allow passage of substances such as nutrients and minerals. The potassium channel is a cell membrane protein whose selectively filter allows the entry of potassium ions and only potassium. The basis for this selectivity was a mystery, solved by MacKinnon whose work won the 2003 Nobel Prize for Chemistry (along with Agre - for work on the water channel). Curiously, a parallel for the solution is seen in the “spider climb,” an obstacle from the American Ninja Reality TV show, where an athlete must ascend a channel between two parallel walls, pressing their hands and feet against the walls and moving up with small jumps. To learn more, visit www.biostainedglass.com/bio-stained-glass/831/13.