William O. Williams
Carnegie Mellon University
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Striated muscle offers a rare opportunity in biological modeling, in that its structure features a regular and consistent geometry. The cartoon of units of septagonal-packings of myocin and actin molecular-chain-fibres sliding past one another powered by rotation of myocin cross-bridges, only fully experimentally confirmed in 1999, was used as a model beginning in 1957 with the work of A. F. Huxely. I present here some improved models of the Huxley type which offer significant correlation with a variety of experiments.
This work is part of an on-going collaboration with Gurtin.