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Biology  /  Bio 0329  ·  Atom · ~20 seconds

Membrane Fluidity

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A membrane's fluidity depends on how tightly its phospholipid tails pack, and unsaturated tails, kinked by double bonds, pack more loosely than saturated ones.

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A cold environment compresses membranes rich in saturated fatty acids toward rigidity; unsaturated tails hold space open to stay fluid.

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Fluidity is a property of the whole membrane's packing, not one phospholipid molecule alone.