The Eleventh Annual Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences is awarded to Dr. Michael Sheetz, Dr. James Spudich, and Dr. Ronald Vale for explaining how cargo is moved by molecular motors along two different systems of tracks within cells," said Dr. Günter Blobel, Chairman of the awards jury for the Wiley Prize.
Many basic cellular functions depend on the directed movement of macromolecules, membranes or chromosomes from one place to another within the cell. The transport of this intracellular cargo is achieved by molecular motor proteins, such as myosin and kinesin, which provide force and movement through the conversion chemical energy (ATP) into mechanical energy. Molecular motor proteins move along scaffolds made of specific protein polymers (kinesin along microtubules and myosin along actin filaments) carrying their cargo to its proper place in the cell.
