Science Common Sense

1633 - How has the model of biological membranes evolved from a scientific historical perspective?

The model of biological membranes has changed a lot over time as scientists learned more. Here's a brief history:

1. Sausage model (1920s-1950s): The first idea was that a cell membrane is a thick, solid layer of fat (lipids) with proteins stuck in it, like sausages.

2. Sandwich model (1950s-1960s): Scientists then thought of the membrane as two layers of fat with proteins in between, like a sandwich.

3. Fluid mosaic model (1970s): This is the model we still use today. The membrane is thought of as a thin layer of moving fat molecules (like a fluid) with proteins floating in it (like a mosaic picture). This model was developed by scientists Jonathan Singer and Garth Nicolson.

The fluid mosaic model is still used because it explains how the membrane can control what goes in and out of the cell, and how it can move and bend.