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2019

2025

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Choreography of Life

It was designed by Charles Reilly and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. It is dated 2019. Its medium is video. It is a part of the department.

An essential component of life, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is used to move energy within cells. This film depicts the enzyme ATP synthase harvesting metabolic energy stored within the bonds of ATP. The film presents a biological narrative where each atom attracts and repels its neighbors, develops relationships and communities, and ultimately reveals the full mechanical motion of ATP synthase. Here we see approximately 500,000 atoms, moving at a rate of femtoseconds (1 millionth of 1 billionth of a second).

It is credited Courtesy of Charles Reilly.

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This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318798827/ |title=Choreography of Life |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=11 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>