2006-12-01 Maintain that resting potential, now!

The question was: what (or whatever) maintains the resting membrane potential nowadays! I always thought that it was the sodium pump (or Na K ATPase etc.). Recently, I heard: No, it is not the sodium pump that maintains the resting potential. So I checked both the Oxford and the Penguin Dictionaries of Biology. Oxford says that the resting potential is maintained by the sodium pump; however, the Penguin says it is the leaky potassium channels, and sodium pump plays a slight role. Well, it is one of those academic debates, it would seem--which really mean nothing--because nothing is at stake! The debate is from confusing maintenance, recovery, and repair--perhaps. Is it the resting potential (a thing being maintained) or is it the repolarization after a depolarization (a thing in recovery) that we are talking about? Is maintenance still maintenance if you spend energy in extruding the smaller atoms out--well: a running car can be maintained only by spending money? Perhaps, after all, it is only the usual confusion of the frogs in a well: they can only see the stars in their own horizons. The whole biological process has several components, and to know which is the one--well, just take one out and see if the process holds and functions. Which brick is the most important in a wall? Clearly, the truth is never simple, and possibly there is no such thing as the truth. Things evolve using all of the components--and are what they are. So, I guess it is always the context and it is always relative: point of view etc. There is no simple correct answer because the question is incorrectly formulated--without the necessary context. What is more important in the running of a car: the engine or the gas? So get both the Oxford and Penguin--they complement, and both are useful when viewed and understood in the right context: neither can replace the textbook; and no textbook replaces all the source materials--but you need to start somewhere. For a rich fantasy life read Ayul Zamir's Intern Beth. Now, whatever maintains that resting membrane potential!