Cells do more than carry out chemical reactions. New theoretical work suggests they may also generate usable electrical ...

Ion channels play a crucial role in many cellular processes, including neuronal communication, muscle contraction or cell proliferation. Most multi subunit ion channels exist in two functional states, ...

A research team led by Prof. GAO Jun from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with researchers from Qingdao ...

Researchers have determined that condensates are electrically charged droplets that can induce voltage changes across the ...

Cartoon of the 3D models of the broad bean (right, pink-violet) and the thale cress (left, blue) TPC1 ion channel protein in the vacuole membrane. On the left, Calcium ions (red spheres) in the ...

Biologists have long treated cell membranes as passive barriers, thin skins that separate the chemistry of life from the ...

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 ...

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 ...

Electricity has always been central to how life works, from the firing of neurons to the beating of the heart, but new ...

The discovery that tissues use electricity to expel unhealthy cells is part of a surge of renewed interest in the currents ...