Marathon of Nano-Sprinters
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Processive bio-molecular motors, which move actively along cytoskeletal filaments, drive the cargo traffic in cells and in biomimetic systems. A single motor molecule is sufficient for continuous transport of cargoes such as vesicles or latex beads over a few micrometers. To achieve transport over larger distances, several motor mole-cules have to cooperate. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and In-terfaces in Potsdam have now developed a new theory that only seven or eight mo-tor molecules are sufficient for directed transport over centimeters or even meters.
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