The study of muscle and contractility is an unusual scientific endeavour since it has from the start been focussed on one problem—What makes muscle work?—and yet has needed a vast range of different approaches and techniques to study it. Its uniqueness lies in the fundamental fascination of a large scale molecular machine that converts chemical energy into mechanical energy at ambient temperature and with high efficiency that is also controlled by an exquisitely intricate yet utterly reliable regulatory system and is an essential component of animal life. The investigation of muscle is as innovative as any other field of research. As soon as one approach appears to be played out another comes along. It is instructive to consider this as a series of waves of novel and heightened activity starting in the 1950s. The thesis of this article is that we are approaching the fourth wave with the recent rise of interest in small molecules as research tools and possible therapies for muscle diseases.

中文翻译：

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小分子研究：肌肉研究的第四次浪潮。


对肌肉和收缩性的研究是一项不同寻常的科学事业，因为它从一开始就专注于一个问题——是什么让肌肉发挥作用？——但需要大量不同的方法和技术来研究它。其独特之处在于大型分子机器的基本魅力，该机器可以在环境温度下将化学能高效地转化为机械能，并且由极其复杂但完全可靠的调节系统控制，是动物生命的重要组成部分。肌肉的研究与任何其他研究领域一样具有创新性。一旦一种方法出现，另一种方法就会出现。将其视为 20 世纪 50 年代开始的一系列新颖且高度活动的浪潮是有启发性的。本文的主题是，随着最近人们对小分子作为肌肉疾病的研究工具和可能的疗法的兴趣的兴起，我们正在接近第四次浪潮。