Certain cells, commonly called excitable cells, are unique because of their ability to generate electrical signals. Although several types of excitable cells exist — including neurons, muscle cells, ...

When a scrappy team of scientists joined forces in the late 1990s, they sought to identify genetic mutations that could have an outsized impact on the treatment of human disease. At the time, that ...

An international team involving the Institute of Chemical Research, a joint centre of the University of Seville and the Spanish National Research Council, has developed a new technique that will ...

They are literally channels for communication: Pore-forming proteins in living cells, termed ion channels, are embedded in the outer membrane of almost all cell types and play a crucial role in the ...

Investigators led by Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified mutations in a gene coding for a key ion channel in the ...

How does the gut talk to the brain? A new study identifies polysaccharides and peptidoglycans as the key bacterial signals that trigger neural activity and serotonin release.

A new study has unveiled a precise picture of how an ion channel found in most mammalian cells regulates its own function with a 'ball-and-chain' channel-plugging mechanism. The findings boost the ...

Mutated variants of a particular ion channel cause difficult-to-treat epilepsy. A study published in the journal Nature now shows that a commonly used anesthetic drug, propofol, can restore the ...

Researchers have gained new insights into an ion channel from algae. These insights could help optogenetics realize its full potential in the future. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest ...