When biological membranes are frozen and then fractured, they tend to break along the middle of the bilayer. The best explanation for this is that
A) the integral membrane proteins are not strong enough to hold the bilayer together.
B) water that is present in the middle of the bilayer freezes and is easily fractured.
C) hydrophilic interactions between the opposite membrane surfaces are destroyed on freezing.
D) the carbon-carbon bonds of the phospholipid tails are easily broken.
E) the hydrophobic interactions that hold the membrane together are weakest at this point.
A comparison of the sizes of various chemical and biological structures, and the resolving power of
Photosynthetic thylakoid membranes and numerous gas vesicles found in a cell of the cyanobacterial g
The titration curve of phosphoric acid (H3PO4), a common buffer in biological sy
Electron micrograph of the plasma membranes of two cells showing the glycocalyx.
Transport Across Membranes
(a) Summary of major pathways of organic metabolism. Cells continually synthesize and break down car