Tuesday, August 22, 2006

imagery for the chemically inclined

Integral proteins are like icebergs floating in a lipid bilayer sea.

sad part? I love it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

surfactant (phospholipids that line the alveoli) acts like a large ice floe across a chilly sea - when the alveoli are inflated,the ice chunks are pulled apart and water appears between them, creating surface tension which pulls them back together. However, when the alveoli are not stretched, the ice lies tightly joined, no water can get into the alveoli and the surface tension is decreased.

Come to med school.