Dr. Spudich begins his talks with a clear overview of muscle biology. Muscles are made of many cells and each cell contains many contractile units called sarcomeres. Sarcomeres are made of parallel filaments of two different proteins, actin and myosin. The filaments slide relative to each other and cause the sarcomere, and in turn the muscle, to contract. Spudich recounts the breakthroughs that led muscle biologists to propose this sliding filament model (~1950). By 1969, experiments using electron microscopy, a relatively new technology at the time, and X-ray diffraction, had advanced the model to explain how the “swing” of individual myosin molecules along actin filaments could power muscle contraction.
View the full talk with additional resources on our website
A Brief History of Muscle Biology
James Spudich begins his talk with an early history of muscle biology and moves forward to our current understanding of the molecular basis of muscle contraction and disease. (Talk recorded in May 2017)
- Part 1: A Brief History of Muscle Biology 1864-1969Audience:
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 31:05 - Part 2: A Brief History of Muscle Biology 1969-2017Audience:
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 31:32 - Part 3: Ca 2+ Regulation of Muscle ContractionAudience:
- Researcher
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 32:23 - Part 4: Myosin Mutations and Hypertrophic CardiomyopathyAudience:
- Researcher
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 37:56