News tagged with ion channels

Thanks to rare alpine bacteria, researchers identify one of alcohol's key gateways to the brain

Thanks to a rare bacteria that grows only on rocks in the Swiss Alps, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the Pasteur Institute in France have been the first to identify how alcohol might ...

Medical research created Apr 25, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Epilepsy sends differentiated neurons on the run

(Medical Xpress)—The smooth operation of the brain requires a certain robustness to fluctuations in its home within the body. At the same time, its extraordinary power derives from an activity structure ...

Neuroscience created Mar 29, 2013 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Researchers studying ketamine as suicide prevention drug

(Medical Xpress)—University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers think ketamine, an anesthesia medication in use since the 1970s, might be a valuable tool in treating severe depression and reducing ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 27, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Dysfunction in cerebellar Calcium channel causes motor disorders and epilepsy

A dysfunction of a certain Calcium channel, the so called P/Q-type channel, in neurons of the cerebellum is sufficient to cause different motor diseases as well as a special type of epilepsy. This is reported by the research ...

Neuroscience created Mar 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Why a hereditary anemia is caused by genetic mutation in mechanically sensitive ion channel

A genetic mutation that alters the kinetics of an ion channel in red blood cells has been identified as the cause behind a hereditary anemia, according to a paper published this month in the Proceedings of the National Ac ...

Medical research created Mar 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

How the body's energy molecule transmits three types of taste to the brain

Saying that the sense of taste is complicated is an understatement, that it is little understood, even more so. Exactly how cells transmit taste information to the brain for three out of the five primary ...

Medical research created Mar 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers solve mystery behind baby's first breath

(Medical Xpress)—Queen's University researchers have discovered how a key artery in a newborn baby's heart constricts and eventually closes when the baby takes its first breath and adjusts to the shock of being born. The ...

Medical research created Mar 05, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cause of heart arrhythmia discovered using X-rays at CLS

Using powerful X-rays at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, scientists have reconstructed the scenario of heart arrhythmia in action, making critical progress towards preventing deadly conditions and saving lives.

Medical research created Feb 22, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Study finds linchpin of skin response to UVA light

Last year, a team of researchers at Brown University discovered that certain skin cells use a light-sensitive receptor found outside of the eye to sense ultraviolet light and quickly begin pumping out melanin ...

Medical research created Jan 21, 2013 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A model-free way to characterize polymodal ion channel gating

Two studies in The Journal of General Physiology (JGP) help pave the way for a "shortcut" model-free approach to studying activation of "polymodal" ion channels—channels that open in response to multip ...

Medical research created Dec 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Brake on nerve cell activity after seizures discovered: Gene expression initiates protective electrical response

Given that epilepsy impacts more than 2 million Americans, there is a pressing need for new therapies to prevent this disabling neurological disorder. New findings from the neuroscience laboratory of Mark ...

Neuroscience created Dec 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers discover adverse effects of Bisphenol A on calcium channels

(Medical Xpress)—Bisphenol A, a substance found in many synthetic products, is considered to be harmful, particularly, for fetuses and babies. Researchers from the University of Bonn have now shown in experiments on cells ...

Medical research created Dec 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New findings on the workings of the inner ear

The sensory cells of the inner ear have tiny hairs called stereocilia that play a critical part in hearing. It has long been known that these stereocilia move sideways back and forth in a wave-like motion when stimulated ...

Medical research created Oct 02, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New insights into functionality of cystic fibrosis protein

CFTR is an important protein that, when mutated, causes the life-threatening genetic disease cystic fibrosis. A study in The Journal of General Physiology (JGP) details how an accidental discovery has provided ...

Medical research created Sep 26, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers target physiological factors that lead to asthma attack

A new study that identifies ways to reduce the factors that lead to an asthma attack gives hope to asthma sufferers. A UCSF researcher and his colleagues believe they have found a way to help asthma sufferers by impeding ...

Inflammatory disorders created Sep 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Ion channel

Ion channels are pore-forming proteins that help establish and control the small voltage gradient across the plasma membrane of all living cells (see cell potential) by allowing the flow of ions down their electrochemical gradient. They are present in the membranes that surround all biological cells. The study of ion channels is known as channelomics and involves many scientific techniques such as voltage clamp electrophysiology (in particular patch clamp), immunohistochemistry, and RT-PCR.

For more information about Ion channel, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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Related topics: brain , cells , nerve cells , cell membrane