NATURE’S smallest rotary motor has finally been coaxed into producing chemical energy in the lab. The experiment paves the way for molecular motors that might power future nanodevices.
Cells synthesise energy-carrying ATP molecules using an enzyme called ATP synthase. Part of the enzyme is a “motor” that is turned clockwise by electrochemical gradients within the cell, forcing the production of ATP. It also works in reverse, rotating anticlockwise to break down ATP and release energy.
To run this ATP machine artificially, Hiroyasu Itoh of Hamamatsu Photonics in Tsukuba, Japan, and his colleagues fixed the enzyme to a glass plate and…
