Potassium channels are essential membrane proteins that enable the selective and rapid transport of K⁺ ions, a process fundamental to cellular excitability and signal transduction. Recent research has ...

Researchers from the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Nagoya City University, and Tokyo Metropolitan Institute ...

Summary: For over a century, potassium ions were viewed as mere passengers in the brain—particles that flow through channels ...

Tetrameric cation channels are the largest and best characterized group of ion channels. For this type of ion channel, the ion pathway lies in a pore domain consisting of two transmembrane helices ...

Do only potassium ions pass through the selectivity filter of a potassium channel, or are there water molecules between the ions? This question has been a source of controversy for years. Researchers ...

Okazaki, Japan, 22 April 2026 – Potassium ions (K⁺) are essential for all cells and living organisms. Scientists have long believed that K⁺ merely ...

Despite being only a few nanometers in size, they are of fundamental importance for biological processes: Ion channels allow essential ions such as potassium and sodium to enter and leave our cells.

Larger K+ (ionic radius: 1.3 Å) can selectively permeate larger Na + (ionic radius: 1.0 Å) through biological potassium ion channels, with selectivity ratios greater than 1000-fold. Scientists have ...