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Related Concept Videos

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending01:15

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending

The living membranes are flexible due to their fluid mosaic nature; however, their bending into different shapes is an active process regulated by specific lipids and proteins. The membrane bending can be transient as seen in vesicles or stable for a long time as in microvilli. Cells regulate the size, location, and duration of the membrane curvature.
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...
Membrane Fluidity01:26

Membrane Fluidity

Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is a relatively...
Membrane Fluidity01:23

Membrane Fluidity

Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.Fatty acids tails of phospholipids can be either saturated or...
Protein Diffusion in the Membrane01:24

Protein Diffusion in the Membrane

Proteins show rotational as well as lateral diffusion across the membrane. The lateral diffusion of proteins was confirmed through the cell fusion experiment where mouse and human cells were fused, resulting in hybrid cells. When the human and mouse cells fused, the specific membrane proteins on human and mouse cells were marked with the red and green-fluorescent markers, respectively. Initially, the red and green fluorescence was located on the respective hemisphere of the cell. As time...
What are Membranes?01:24

What are Membranes?

A cell's plasma membrane demarcates the cell's borders and determines the nature of its interaction with the environment. Cells exclude certain substances, take in others, and excrete some others in controlled quantities. The plasma membrane must be flexible to allow certain cells, such as red and white blood cells, to change their shape while passing through narrow capillaries. These are the more obvious plasma membrane functions. In addition, the plasma membrane's surface carries markers that...
What are Membranes?01:54

What are Membranes?

A key characteristic of life is the ability to separate the external environment from the internal space. To do this, cells have evolved semi-permeable membranes that regulate the passage of biological molecules. Additionally, the cell membrane defines a cell’s shape and interactions with the external environment. Eukaryotic cell membranes also serve to compartmentalize the internal space into organelles, including the endomembrane structures of the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Single-Molecule Imaging of Lateral Mobility and Ion Channel Activity in Lipid Bilayers using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy
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Single-Molecule Imaging of Lateral Mobility and Ion Channel Activity in Lipid Bilayers using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy

Published on: February 17, 2023

Membranes in motion.

Gerrit van Meer1

  • 1Department of Membrane Enzymology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. g.vanmeer@uu.nl

EMBO Reports
|April 17, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This symposium explored cellular molecular machines. Key topics included organelle shape, vesicle transport, and cellular component sorting for cell organization and dynamics.

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Single-Molecule Imaging of Lateral Mobility and Ion Channel Activity in Lipid Bilayers using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy
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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • The symposium focused on biological membrane organization and dynamics.
  • It highlighted recent advancements in understanding cellular molecular machinery.

Framework:

  • Discussions covered the machinery driving organelle shape dynamics.
  • Vesicle budding and fusion processes were examined.
  • Cellular component sorting and delivery systems were detailed.

Implementation:

  • Insights were presented from the Keystone Symposium on Molecular Basis for Biological Membrane Organization and Dynamics.
  • The event provided a platform for sharing new research findings.

Implications:

  • Understanding these molecular mechanisms is crucial for cell biology.
  • This knowledge advances our comprehension of cellular organization and function.