9. A Theory of Muscular Contraction 



In the present part of this book I propose to review a selected 

 number of biological structures and functions in order to see 

 whether we could understand them better or, at least, see them in 

 a new light by looking at them through the glasses of £*. To re- 

 main faithful to my traditions I will start with muscle. 



Theories of muscular contraction are available on the market 

 by the dozen. The author himself is responsible for a few of them. 

 Most of these theories were fatally hurt in the impact between 

 physics, chemistry, physiology, and electron miscroscopy, fitting 

 only the requirements of the science of their author but being in- 

 compatible with that of others. The situation with muscle is at 

 present, similar to that of the holy elephant which had ninety-nine 

 names, the real one being the hundredth, known only to the ele- 

 phant himself. If we fail to understand muscle because its function 

 involves E* then our experience with £* should fuse spontane- 

 ously with older knowledge into a new theory of contraction. An 

 important place has to be given in this theory to the fact that the 

 formation of the water structures, which the nonpolar groups of 

 a protein can be supposed to build around themselves, goes with a 

 strong expansion, the formed ice having a cubic lattice and a very 

 low density. Also the electropolar groups of myosin and the sub- 

 stances, like ATP, bound to myosin, may take their share in build- 

 ing up water structures. 



As far as we know, the elementary act of contraction is per- 

 formed by the myosin "molecule" which is built of a greater num- 

 ber of small units, "protomyosins" which are held together not 

 by single strong covalent bonds but by a greater number of weaker 

 ones such as H-bonds, or van der Waals or electric attractions. 



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