The Problem with Inventing Molecular Mechanisms to Fit Thermodynamic Equations of Muscle
Almost every model of muscle contraction in the literature to date is a molecular power stroke model, even though this corpuscular mechanism is opposed by centuries of science, by 85 years of unrefuted evidence that muscle is a thermodynamic system, and by a quarter century of direct observations th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/20/15439 |
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| author | Josh Baker |
| author_facet | Josh Baker |
| author_sort | Josh Baker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Almost every model of muscle contraction in the literature to date is a molecular power stroke model, even though this corpuscular mechanism is opposed by centuries of science, by 85 years of unrefuted evidence that muscle is a thermodynamic system, and by a quarter century of direct observations that the molecular mechanism of muscle contraction is a molecular switch, not a molecular power stroke. An ensemble of molecular switches is a binary mechanical thermodynamic system from which A.V. Hill’s muscle force–velocity relationship is directly derived, where Hill’s parameter <i>a</i> is the internal force against which unloaded muscle shortens, and Hill’s parameter <i>b</i> is the product of the switch displacement, <i>d</i>, and the actin–myosin ATPase rate. Ignoring this model and the centuries of thermodynamics that preceded it, corpuscularians continue to develop molecular power stroke models, adding to their 65-year jumble of “new”, “innovative”, and “unconventional” molecular mechanisms for Hill’s <i>a</i> and <i>b</i> parameters, none of which resemble the underlying physical chemistry. Remarkably, the corpuscularian community holds the thermodynamicist to account for these discrepancies, which, as outlined here, I have done for 25 years. It is long past time for corpuscularians to be held accountable for their mechanisms, which by all accounts have no foundation in science. The stakes are high. Molecular power stroke models are widely used in research and in clinical decision-making and have, for over half a century, muddied our understanding of the inner workings of one of the most efficient and clean-burning machines on the planet. It is problematic that corpuscularians present these models to stakeholders as science when in fact corpuscularians have been actively defending these models against science for decades. The path forward for scientists is to stop baseless rejections of muscle thermodynamics and to begin testing corpuscular and thermodynamic mechanisms with the goal of disproving one or the other of these hypotheses. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e72e425d25544ebfb096dca4a2f2f9ea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:12:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-e72e425d25544ebfb096dca4a2f2f9ea2023-11-19T16:46:44ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-10-0124201543910.3390/ijms242015439The Problem with Inventing Molecular Mechanisms to Fit Thermodynamic Equations of MuscleJosh Baker0School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USAAlmost every model of muscle contraction in the literature to date is a molecular power stroke model, even though this corpuscular mechanism is opposed by centuries of science, by 85 years of unrefuted evidence that muscle is a thermodynamic system, and by a quarter century of direct observations that the molecular mechanism of muscle contraction is a molecular switch, not a molecular power stroke. An ensemble of molecular switches is a binary mechanical thermodynamic system from which A.V. Hill’s muscle force–velocity relationship is directly derived, where Hill’s parameter <i>a</i> is the internal force against which unloaded muscle shortens, and Hill’s parameter <i>b</i> is the product of the switch displacement, <i>d</i>, and the actin–myosin ATPase rate. Ignoring this model and the centuries of thermodynamics that preceded it, corpuscularians continue to develop molecular power stroke models, adding to their 65-year jumble of “new”, “innovative”, and “unconventional” molecular mechanisms for Hill’s <i>a</i> and <i>b</i> parameters, none of which resemble the underlying physical chemistry. Remarkably, the corpuscularian community holds the thermodynamicist to account for these discrepancies, which, as outlined here, I have done for 25 years. It is long past time for corpuscularians to be held accountable for their mechanisms, which by all accounts have no foundation in science. The stakes are high. Molecular power stroke models are widely used in research and in clinical decision-making and have, for over half a century, muddied our understanding of the inner workings of one of the most efficient and clean-burning machines on the planet. It is problematic that corpuscularians present these models to stakeholders as science when in fact corpuscularians have been actively defending these models against science for decades. The path forward for scientists is to stop baseless rejections of muscle thermodynamics and to begin testing corpuscular and thermodynamic mechanisms with the goal of disproving one or the other of these hypotheses.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/20/15439thermodynamicsmusclemyosinactinmotorforce |
| spellingShingle | Josh Baker The Problem with Inventing Molecular Mechanisms to Fit Thermodynamic Equations of Muscle International Journal of Molecular Sciences thermodynamics muscle myosin actin motor force |
| title | The Problem with Inventing Molecular Mechanisms to Fit Thermodynamic Equations of Muscle |
| title_full | The Problem with Inventing Molecular Mechanisms to Fit Thermodynamic Equations of Muscle |
| title_fullStr | The Problem with Inventing Molecular Mechanisms to Fit Thermodynamic Equations of Muscle |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Problem with Inventing Molecular Mechanisms to Fit Thermodynamic Equations of Muscle |
| title_short | The Problem with Inventing Molecular Mechanisms to Fit Thermodynamic Equations of Muscle |
| title_sort | problem with inventing molecular mechanisms to fit thermodynamic equations of muscle |
| topic | thermodynamics muscle myosin actin motor force |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/20/15439 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joshbaker theproblemwithinventingmolecularmechanismstofitthermodynamicequationsofmuscle AT joshbaker problemwithinventingmolecularmechanismstofitthermodynamicequationsofmuscle |