Charged membranes

This Teaching Resource provides three animated lessons that describe the storage and utilization of energy across plasma membranes. The "Na,K ATPase" animation explains how these pumps establish the electrochemical gradient that stores energy across plasma membranes. The "ATP synthesizing complexes" animation shows how these complexes transfer energy from the inner mitochondrial membrane to adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The "action potential" lesson explains how charged membranes are used to propagate signals along the axons of neurons. These animations serve as valuable resources for any collegiate-level course that describes these important factors. Courses that might employ them include introductory biology, biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology, pharmacology, and physiology.