Aquaporin: Wat-er an amazing protein!

Aquaporin creates a channel for water molecules to pass through a membrane, so this molecules pops up when talking about osmosis. Aquaporin can be found in many organisms, from bacteria to eukaryotes and is made up of 4 identical chains.  The molecule itself is somewhat stationary with some rotation in the membrane, but the water molecules allow us to visualize how the function of the aquaporin is important.

When visualizing this molecule, there are a few different approaches that can be made. From the video above, you can see the bounciness of the water molecules as they pass through the aquaporin molecule. This reminds me of an arcade or carnival game that has the floating balls and you have to knock the balls down with a bigger ball or a sack. When the bigger ball misses and passes through the floating balls, there is a bounciness that can occur due to the gust of wind or movement. The aquaporin molecule in this case would be the machine that blows the balls up in the air and allows it to bounce.

Similarly, this model reminds me of a kinetics ball that can expand and allow things to pass through it (such as a bouncy ball) or a filter or colander that strains and separates.

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One Response to Aquaporin: Wat-er an amazing protein!

  1. Phil says:

    The water molecules remind me of traffic flowing (or not flowing at 5pm) across the bridge as you head out of Corvallis toward Lebanon.

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