Analysis of high resolution recordings of motor movement

The development of in vitro motility assays for motor proteins has been accompanied by a parallel development of advanced optical instrumentation capable of recording motion at the molecular level. Devices now exist that can record displacements to better than 0.1 nm at bandwidths in excess of 10 kHz, and that can place controlled forces up to many pN on single motors. Ultra-high resolution data from experiments are now pouring in. The analysis and subsequent interpretation of experimental records, which are inevitably contaminated with high levels of thermal noise, remain an ongoing challenge. This essay examines selected issues relating to this challenge and discusses some alternative approaches.