Most human communication is nonverbal. When words fail our facial muscles take over, and an unguarded expression can be the most truthful message we send! But the most specialised of all facial muscles lie well out of sight. The extraocular muscles wrap around the back of the eyeball, giving the eye a high degree of mobility over the widest range of speeds. Margaret Briggs and Fred Schachat's fascination with the muscle began 15 years ago when a colleague told them about the heterogeneity of the muscle's contractile machinery. More recently, Briggs and Schachat have focused on the unique form of myosin found in the muscle, MYH13, which is responsible for the muscle's high-speed performance. Surprisingly, MYH13 only comprises 20-30% of the muscle's myosin component. How could a protein that comprises a relatively small fraction of the muscle determine its high-speed properties? Briggs and Schachat set about localising and quantifying the...

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