In the evolutionary history of life, the ability of a cell to separate its inner world from the external environment was an ...

Researchers at the University of Michigan have revealed that cells use a previously unknown feat of molecular craftsmanship to help protect their larger host organisms. The building blocks required ...

Researchers have discovered that damage to the cell membrane promotes cellular senescence, or cell aging. Our cells are surrounded by a fragile membrane that's only 5 nanometers thick, 1/20 of a soap ...

Many drug and antibody discovery pathways focus on intricately folded cell membrane proteins: when molecules of a drug candidate bind to these proteins, like a key going into a lock, they trigger ...

Hemifusomes are fused vesicles, or sacs of fluid, that were previously unknown to exist inside cells. They were discovered using cryo-electron tomography, which literally freezes them in time, and ...

The upper size limit on cell-penetrating drug molecules may be much higher than medicinal chemists had thought. A research team reports that molecules believed to be much too large to diffuse across ...

Some bacterial membrane transporters work almost like freight elevators to transport substances through the cell membrane into the interior of the cell. The transporter itself spans the bacterial ...

Photons of light possess linear and angular momentum. This fundamental characteristic is crucial to trapping objects optically using a highly focused laser beam. Using this light feature, the Optical ...

Inside the human body, countless microscopic processes keep us alive and functioning. Fluids move, gases are exchanged, and charged particles flow in and out of cells to maintain balance. One of the ...

The human body is a dynamic place. Blood pumps, spinal fluid flows, oxygen comes in and carbon dioxide goes out. Deeper still, charged molecules pass through cell walls, quietly keeping the body's ...