Review emphasizes the power of simple physical models for complex protein machines
(PHYSorg.com Chemistry)

The living cell can be viewed as a factory where protein machines are in charge of various processes, such as transport of material inside the cell or operations with other macromolecules like DNA. Their operation is typically fueled by ATP molecules, the major energy carrier in biological cells. The chemical energy gained through ATP hydrolysis is used by a protein machine to cyclically change its shape and thus to perform a particular function. Hence, resolving functional conformational changes in proteins is a major challenge, with fundamental importance for understanding and control of biological single-molecule motors and machines.