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Structural biology

Ion channel in the spotlight

Nature volume 482, pages 318–319 (2012)Cite this article

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When expressed in neurons, channelrhodopsin proteins allow the cells' electrical activity to be controlled by light. The structure of one such protein will guide efforts to make better tools for controlling neurons. See Article p.369

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Figure 1: Structure of a closed light-gated cation channel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oliver P. Ernst is in the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada.,

    Oliver P. Ernst

  2. Thomas P. Sakmar is in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA.,

    Thomas P. Sakmar

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  1. Oliver P. Ernst
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  2. Thomas P. Sakmar
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Correspondence to Oliver P. Ernst or Thomas P. Sakmar.

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Ernst, O., Sakmar, T. Ion channel in the spotlight. Nature 482, 318–319 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/482318a

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