In the disease tetanus, muscles undergo periods of spasm, in which they maximally contract and are unable to relax. During such a spasm, the muscles are in a state of sustained contraction.
A scientist has produced a type of myosin that can bind ATP but has lost its hydrolyzing capability. What will be the state of a muscle that includes this myosin within its sarcomeres?
You have been hit with a shrink-ray and have entered a muscle fiber to explore the action of a muscle at a microscopic scale. You move close to a myosin head and have to dodge a bit of inorganic phosphate that goes flying by. Which stage of the muscle contraction has this myosin filament just completed?
What would be the outcome if you prevented the removal of calcium ions from the sarcoplasm into the sarcoplasmic reticulum?
What describes the contraction of a muscle at the level of protein interactions?
A muscle that is denied ATP will be unable to contract.
A mad scientist is attempting to produce a paralytic agent to administer to their superspy nemesis. They have worked with a number of possibilities and have settled on interfering with proteins critical for muscle contraction. Recommend to the scientist a suitable means of achieving this goal.
A new kind of vertebrate has been discovered with muscle fibers that lack t tubules. Predict a compensatory change in the microanatomy of the muscle fiber in comparison to the standard vertebrate condition.
A muscle fiber has been exposed to anatoxin, an acetylcholine mimic that irreversibly binds to ACh-gated channels in cell membranes. What will happen to this muscle?
How is a muscle contraction similar to the transmission of a stimulus to the central nervous system?
A patient reports to a clinic with symptoms of muscle weakness and sluggish contraction. A test of nerve function revealed no neural disease, and there is no indication of any mitochondrial disease. What is a possible explanation for this patient's symptoms?