Primary Active Transport ((install)) Now

You looked around and saw that the sodium levels were indeed too high, and potassium levels were too low. You knew that if you didn't act quickly, the cell's delicate balance would be disrupted, and it could even die.

Another twist—this time, the phosphate group that had been stuck to Pump-O fell off, and the protein relaxed back to its original shape. The two potassium ions were dumped, grateful and warm, into the crowded cytoplasm. primary active transport

This energy transfer causes the protein to change its shape, effectively "pushing" the cargo through the membrane. You looked around and saw that the sodium

And as long as the cell lived, Pump-O would keep twisting, keep grumbling, and keep the city alive—against all odds, against all gradients, one stubborn molecule at a time. The two potassium ions were dumped, grateful and

And that was it. One cycle. Three sodiums out. Two potassiums in. One ATP sacrificed.