Brian Knep : Journal

Actin Age

Bill Brieher and Hao Yuan Kueh, who are working with Actin filaments, told me they see signs of aging in these microscopic proteins. They found that the longer the filaments are around, the longer it takes for them to shrink. The older filaments somehow take longer to disassemble. Part of what’s curious here is Bill and Kueh’s use of the word ‘aging’ simply to refer to a time-related effect. When I write these words, am I aging the journal? When I drop a ball, am I, the ball, or the universe aging? I suppose all are true.