Actomyosin systems of biological motility

Evolution of notions on the molecular mechanism of muscle contraction and other events based on the actin—myosin interaction, from the middle of XX century to the present time, is briefly reviewed, including recent views on the functioning of the myosin head as a “molecular motor”. The results of structural and functional studies on the myosin head performed by the author and his colleagues using differential scanning calorimetry are also reviewed.