Although C. elegans is a powerful genetic model, its one-millimeter length has made functional data difficult to obtain. In this issue (page 791), Richmond and Jorgensen report patch-clamp electrophysiology in C. elegans muscle. They combined physiology with genetic analysis to identify three receptors that function at the neuromuscular junction, a simple polyinnervated synapse. In this dissected worm, muscles are immunostained red, and GABAergic neurons of the ventral nerve cord express green fluorescent protein (photo by Jean-Louis Bessereau).