Biophysicists discover the key feature of an accurate tool for optogenetics
Tuesday, December 15, 2015 - 08:23
in Biology & Nature
Biophysicists have developed a hypothesis to explain the function of a light-driven protein that pumps sodium ions across a cell membrane, and they have revealed the key structural feature of these pumps. The sodium pumps are promising tools for using light signals to control nerve cells – which is exactly what is involved in the new scientific field of optogenetics.