“This idea may seem hard to believe, but it resolves mysteries and helps predict the existence of exciting phenomena in materials,” Sahin added.
When water is in its liquid form, its molecules strike a fine balance between order and disorder. But when the molecules that form biological materials combine with water, they tip the balance toward order: Water wants to return to its original state. As a result, the water molecules push the biological matter’s molecules away. That pushing force, called the hydration force, was identified in the 1970s, but its impact on biological matter was thought to be limited. This new paper’s argument that the hydration force is what defines the character of biological matter almost entirely, including how soft or hard it is, thus comes as a surprise.
The Hydration Force, the Key to Life?
This seems a huge deal to me. The whole thing is worth reading. It may rewrite the textbooks on biology, etc.
I remember a Biochem professor in class saying he thought the properties of water were little known and would be central to biochem and life. He may have got it right.