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

When a cell receives a message from outside, it generates a molecule called cyclic AMP (cAMP) to relay this message. To ensure the signal reaches the correct effector without triggering pathways ...

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 ...

Our cells are surrounded by a fragile membrane that's only 5 nanometers thick, 1/20 of a soap bubble. Cells are easily damaged by physiological activities, including muscle contraction and tissue ...

Researchers shifted the focus to the internal properties of the membrane itself, specifically its viscosity, highlighting its critical role in controlling deformation and dynamics during essential ...

Schematic of an active cell membrane. In a typical active biological process, active proteins (shown in a variety of colors) in a cell membrane (shown in blue) interact with various biological ...

Just as countries import a vast array of consumer goods across national borders, so living cells are engaged in a lively import-export business. Their ports of entry are sophisticated transport ...

Researchers have identified a novel mechanism by which bacteria form membrane vesicles, which bacteria employ to communicate with each other or to defend themselves against antibiotics. By studying ...

Scientists describe the design and construction of artificial membrane channels, engineered using short segments of DNA. The DNA constructions behave much in the manner of natural cell channels or ...