Page 162 - The Miracle in the Cell Membrane

(a) RESTING POTENTIAL
Axon

Electrodes

The sodium-potassium
pump transports Na+ K+ ion gates are
active
gates
ions out of the cell, and
K+ ions inside it, with a voltage
that enables K+
against the pressure of ions to be
concentration. This
process requires ATP. absorbed out-
side the cell
when they are
Na+ ion gates are active gates with a opened. K+ ion
voltage that permits Na+ ions to pass gates are closed
swiftly into the cell. Ions are absorbed during resting Negatively charged protein
during a motion potential in the light of potential. ions cannot be absorbed,
the concentration slope. Na+ ion gates since they impart a nega-
are closed during resting potential. tive charge to the inner part
of the neuron.
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT WHAT TAKES PLACE IN YOUR
CELLS, WITH ALL THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES?
any people feel no need for the information in this book, unless they are
particularly interested or it falls within their sphere of expertise. That is
M because this information will make no change or difference in their lives.
Yet our cells have vital responsibilities, implementing them without ever making a
mistake. Cells carry out all these activities ceaselessly, without ever making you
aware of them. They remain devoted to these tasks for decades, never going
wrong, forgetting or needing rest. The signals carried along channels that open
and close in less than a second are actually invisible portions of an enormous
Creation. As a result of this system, you can taste the apple you eat, smell the scent
of a rose, recognize your mother's voice, remember a telephone number, can oper-
ate your television's remote control, answer a question, run down stairs, and do all
these things without ever thinking about them. Your responsibility is to be grateful
to our Lord Who created this system in your body without your ever realizing you
needed it.

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