Naturally occurring calcium channels act as pores on the membranes of excitable cells, such as those found in nerves and muscles. The channels drive electrical activity by controlling the influx of ...

Ion channels are pores in the membrane of cells or cell organelles. They allow positively or negatively charged particles, so-called ions, to be transported across the membrane. Biochemists at ...

The transport of ions is essential to maintain electrophysiological balance on either side of the membrane, called osmotic balance, which is needed for signals to be transduced from their chemical ...

New research reveals how tiny electrical gates in the brain, known as NMDA receptors, control learning, memory, and neuron ...

Ion channels belong to a special class of proteins embedded in the oily membranes of the cell. They regulate the movement of charged particles, called ions, into and out of the cell. Much like water ...

Fluoride protects our teeth against cavity-causing bacteria by making our teeth stronger. But what if we could find a way to trap fluoride ions (the negatively charged form of the chemical element ...

Ion channels are transmembrane proteins specifically involved with the transport of inorganic ions like Na+, K+, Ca2+, or Cl-. Ion channels are “gated”, i.e. they open in response to a specific ...

Japan's Innovation Center of NanoMedicine reports on a new stealth coating for tiny medicine-carrying particles that doesn't ...

For decades it was assumed that protein channels and protein pumps fulfilled completely different functions and worked independently of each other. Researchers have now elucidated the transport path ...

MANHATTAN — As a youth, John Tomich always envisioned himself as an inventor. "My mother always told me to invent something simple that everyone could use, say a safety pin or a zipper, " Tomich said.