These passageways, or ion channels, have the ability to open and close in response to chemical or mechanical signals. When an ion channel is open, ions move into or out of the cell in single-file ...

"There is an established method that can be used to measure whether an ion channel is open or closed," explains PD Dr. Dr. Tobias Huth from the Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology at FAU.

Today it seems self-evident that neurons make their electrical signals by opening gates of water-filled pores (ion channels) in the plasma membrane. But it was not always so. Remarkably ...

By using chemical reactions to switch the channel between hydrophilic and hydrophobic (water-repelling) states, they can effectively open and close the “ion superhighway.” “Conversely ...

The elusiveness of single ion channels intrigued researchers for another quarter ... 8 Their adjoined laboratories quickly became a close-knit group. “It was a very small operation, but it was a ...

When a plant senses light, a signal is sent to the guard cell to increase its ion content, which causes the cell to take in water and swell in size. In this state, the stoma is open so that it can ...