The beating of a heart, the ability to learn and remember, and the movement of a sperm cell's tail all have at least one thing in common: They depend on the function of ion channels, the membrane ...

The field of optogenetics has revolutionised our ability to manipulate neuronal circuits by harnessing light-sensitive ion channels to control cellular activity with unprecedented precision. At its ...

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 ...

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers discover that blocking the ion channel called TRPC6 in genetically modified mice with severe or moderate Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) substantially improves ...

A member of an important class of ion channel proteins can transiently rearrange itself into a larger structure with dramatically altered properties, according to a new study. The discovery is a ...

(Nanowerk Spotlight) Biological brains compute using ions, not electrons. Every signal between neurons depends on charged atoms passing through protein channels embedded in cell membranes, a system ...

Researchers decipher the function of an ion channel involved in cellular degradation processes and create new possibilities for Parkinson’s therapies. Washbowls, bathtubs, and sinks are all fitted ...

Ion channels are attractive drug targets due to their importance in health and disease, but finding ways to target a specific ion channel selectively is a major challenge. Now, researchers have ...

Maintenance of cardiac rhythm and pain sensation require the flow of ions across the membranes of all cells. Ion channels, which facilitate this movement, are protein assemblies that penetrate the ...