the.com/rhodopsin
a molecule that bends light into sight, one photon and one twist at a time.
means rhodopsin is the pigment protein in rod cells that lets the retina detect dim light and start the electrical chain reaction we call seeing in the dark.
from from greek rhodon meaning rose and opsis meaning sight, named in the 1870s by franz boll for the pinkish purple hue it showed before light bleached it colorless.
single photon triggerone photon can flip one molecule and register
bleaching effectlight literally fades its color, hence the name
retinal twistvitamin a derivative bends from cis to trans shape
gpcr blueprintstructural template for half of all drug targets
for instance
human rod cells — packed with roughly 100 million rhodopsin molecules each
bovine rhodopsin structure — first gpcr crystal structure solved, 2000, palczewski lab
deep sea fish opsins — shifted rhodopsin variants tuned to blue light past 1000 meters
night blindness mutations — rho gene defects cause retinitis pigmentosa in humans