Scientists Say ... Alberts and Protein Image Two-Tone Coffee Mug

This mug features a quote by scientist Bruce Albert (from “The Cell as a Collection of Protein Machines”): "The entire cell can be viewed as a factory that contains an elaborate network of interlocking assembly lines, each of which is composed of a set of large protein machines. . . . Why do we call the large protein assemblies that underlie cell function protein machines? Precisely because, like machines invented by humans to deal efficiently with the macroscopic world, these protein assemblies contain highly coordinated moving parts.” It also features a beautiful microscopic image (courtesy of Hongchang Cui and Philip Benfey): At the root tips of the mustard plant Arabidopsis thaliana (cell walls shown in red), two proteins work together to control the uptake of water and nutrients. When the cell division-promoting protein 'short-root' moves from the center of the tip outward, it triggers the production of another protein (blue) that confines 'short-root' to the nutrient-filtering endodermis. A great gift for botanists, biologists, or chemists.