09 Aug '19 15:19>2 edits
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-molecules-ions-filter-potassium-channels.html
"...Researchers prove there are no water molecules between the ions in the selectivity filter of potassium channels..."
Although what they proved to be so certainly isn't intrinsically interesting at least from a purely academic point of view and most laypeople certainly wouldn't care whether water molecules move in those channels, what is far more impressive is that they managed to prove it at all as this is a very difficult thing to prove! And this isn't to mention the potential medical breakthroughs this insight might bring for diseases and disorders involving the potassium channel!
I find it surprising that they used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to show that potassium ions move through the potassium channels without water molecules. Wouldn't this NMR have to have incredible resolution in its image to rule out the possibility there are water molecules there? Are there any NMR experts here that can tell me?
"...Researchers prove there are no water molecules between the ions in the selectivity filter of potassium channels..."
Although what they proved to be so certainly isn't intrinsically interesting at least from a purely academic point of view and most laypeople certainly wouldn't care whether water molecules move in those channels, what is far more impressive is that they managed to prove it at all as this is a very difficult thing to prove! And this isn't to mention the potential medical breakthroughs this insight might bring for diseases and disorders involving the potassium channel!
I find it surprising that they used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to show that potassium ions move through the potassium channels without water molecules. Wouldn't this NMR have to have incredible resolution in its image to rule out the possibility there are water molecules there? Are there any NMR experts here that can tell me?