Researchers at Leipzig University and TU Dresden have succeeded in developing biological switches that can selectively turn ion channels on and off using light pulses. Initial applications show that ...

Scientists have identified the role of an ion channel that plays a key part in how cells break down and recycle components, a discovery that could open the door to new treatment strategies for ...

Lysosomes are the recycling centers of human cells. Larger molecules are broken down inside the membrane-enclosed vesicles. Malfunctions can lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.

Cells send electrical impulses throughout the body, but electrophysiologists struggled to tune into these signals until the patch clamp technique was developed. Although biophysicist Bernard Katz from ...

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 ...

Researchers decipher the function of an ion channel involved in cellular degradation processes and create new possibilities for Parkinson’s therapies.