Ion Channel News and Research

RSS

Metrion Biosciences appoints Dr Benedetta Montagnini as Head of European Business Development

Metrion Biosciences Limited (“Metrion”), the specialist ion channel contract research and drug discovery company, today announced the appointment of Dr Benedetta Montagnini as Head of European Business Development. Driven by the uptake of its ion channel discovery services, the appointment follows the recent creation of a Client Services team as Metrion expands its operations and enhanced drug discovery capabilities, internationally.

From Metrion Biosciences Limited 9 Jun 2022

Researchers analyze the significance of two-pore channels in plant cells

TPCs (two-pore channels) are old ion channels found in both animal and plant cells. These ion channels serve key roles in biological activity in numerous tissues in animals, including humans, like the brain and nervous system.

From Tokyo University of Science 3 May 2022

3D structure of protein channel helps shed light on sensitive touch response of Venus fly traps

Scientists at Scripps Research have revealed the three-dimensional structure of Flycatcher1, an aptly named protein channel that may enable Venus fly trap plants to snap shut in response to prey.

18 Feb 2022

Metrion Biosciences expands ion channel drug discovery service capabilities and in-house expertise

Metrion today announced it has expanded its capabilities and expertise through the addition of automated low volume liquid handling capability.

From Metrion Biosciences Limited 7 Dec 2021

Mysterious protein clusters found on neurons are calcium-signaling “hotspots”, study reveals

For 30 years, mysterious clusters of proteins found on the cell body of neurons in the hippocampus, a part of the brain, both intrigued and baffled James Trimmer.

From The University of California, Davis 15 Nov 2021

Researchers use prime editing to correct mutations causing cystic fibrosis in organoids

A team of scientists rectified mutations that result in cystic fibrosis in cultured human stem cells.

11 Aug 2021

World’s first cancer cell model helps modern cancer research and drug development

For many years, computer models have been standard tools in fundamental biomedical research.

5 Jul 2021

Study analyzes how resistance proteins defend plants from pathogens

Disease resistance proteins function as main immune receptors in plants, detecting pests and pathogens and initiating robust defense responses.

13 May 2021

Catechin-type flavonoid compounds in tea relax blood vessels by activating ion channel proteins

A new study from the University of California, Irvine shows that compounds in both green and black tea relax blood vessels by activating ion channel proteins in the blood vessel wall.

9 Mar 2021

An outlook on latest trends in peptide drug discovery and development

Currently, there are more than 80 peptide drugs on the global market and about twice as many in clinical development. Due to their beneficial properties, these biomolecules play already an important role in the treatment of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, hormone disorders, HIV infection, and multiple sclerosis.

11 Feb 2021

Synthetic biomolecule resembles dual stimuli-responsive channel

For the first time, researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and the University of Tokyo in Japan have produced a new artificial transmembrane ion channel—based on a naturally found transmembrane channel that plays a role in neuron signaling—that reacts to both electrical and chemical stimuli.

2 Feb 2021

MIT chemists determine molecular structure of SARS-CoV-2 protein

MIT chemists have determined the molecular structure of a protein found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This protein, called the envelope protein E, forms a cation-selective channel and plays a key role in the virus's ability to replicate itself and stimulate the host cell's inflammation response.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 16 Nov 2020

Novel machine learning algorithm helps identify binding sites in drug targets

Scientists from the iMolecule group at Skoltech Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE) developed BiteNet, a machine learning (ML) algorithm that helps find drug binding sites, i.e. potential drug targets, in proteins.

27 Oct 2020

Scientists find sensor protein which enables normal functioning of bladder

A team co-led by scientists at Scripps Research has found that the main sensor protein enabling our sense of touch also underlies the feeling of having a full bladder and makes normal bladder function possible.

15 Oct 2020

Researchers discover a new mechanism to regulate nerve impulses

Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have discovered a new mechanism by which substances can open a certain type of ion channel and in this way regulate nerve impulses.

13 Oct 2020

80-year-old antibiotic redesigned for new medical uses

Physicians and scientists have long searched the natural world for chemicals that can improve human health.

5 Oct 2020

Researchers identify a new role for covalent linker involved in biological ion channel

Ion channels are essentially passageways through membranes that transport signals to a cell’s environment and enable it to respond.

13 Jul 2020

Single-nucleus RNA sequencing helps compare transcriptional responses to acute cocaine

The lab of Jeremy Day, Ph.D., at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has used single-nucleus RNA sequencing approaches to compare transcriptional responses to acute cocaine in 16 unique cell populations from a portion of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, or NAc.

From University of Alabama 10 Jul 2020

Researchers track how key brain receptor works

For the first time, researchers in the lab of CSHL Professor Hiro Furukawa have been able to track each atom in the NMDA receptor, an important brain protein, as it transmits or inhibits neural signals.

1 Jul 2020

Study shows promise for treating developmental and epileptic brain disease

Studies show that a pair of mutations detected in people with developmental and epileptic brain disease can be traced back to the same ion channel.

19 Jun 2020