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kolleamm
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I know muslces have fibers and all sorts of structures but how do they actually attract themselves to each other on a very atomic level? Is it some sort fo chemical bonding force or?
yes I have, the answers are too broad and not at the atomic levelDaveE said:Have you tried google? Wikipedia?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_contraction
Nice post, so would you say it would be something like an ionic bond contracting the muscles?BillTre said:Its a complex process involving many changes in binding and changes in the shape of proteins that make up the fibers in the muscle cells.
Generally speaking, the binding of between two interacting proteins is not that strong. However, it would be repeated many many times in each muscle fiber where thousands or millions of interacting proteins would be involved. Binding sites are usually made by a mix of different weak interactions on the 3D surfaces of the two things being bound together. They usually don't involve covalent bonds, but may involve charge and other interactions.
The binding of two proteins may cause one or both proteins to change shape.
In addition to these general considerations on binding, ATP (cellular energy source) is involved in muscle contraction by driving certain changes in the protein shape. Shape changes such as this, in turn involve relatively weak interactions within the particular proteins, which drives their shape changes, which in turn causes muscle contraction.
It is usually triggered by an increase in Ca++ whihc binds to particular muscle proteins.
Muscles actively contract (shorten). They lengthen passively (no energy involved, no force generated, other muscles contraction causes them to lengthen).
Wikipedia has a extensive article in this. See the article for more details.
View attachment 253117
Picture from here.
I used to wonder the same thing. How does tissue actually contract.kolleamm said:yes I have, the answers are too broad and not at the atomic level
The main force that makes muscles contract is the interaction between two proteins called actin and myosin. When these proteins slide past each other, it causes the muscle to shorten and contract.
The nervous system plays a crucial role in muscle contraction by sending signals from the brain to the muscles through motor neurons. These signals trigger the release of calcium ions, which allows actin and myosin to interact and cause muscle contraction.
Yes, there are three main types of muscle contractions: concentric, eccentric, and isometric. Concentric contractions occur when the muscle shortens, eccentric contractions occur when the muscle lengthens, and isometric contractions occur when the muscle stays the same length.
Yes, muscles can contract without the presence of oxygen through a process called anaerobic respiration. However, this type of contraction is not as efficient and can only be sustained for short periods of time.
Regular exercise can improve muscle contraction by increasing the number and size of muscle fibers. It also improves the efficiency of the nervous system in sending signals to the muscles, making them stronger and more coordinated.