Action potential

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An action potential (or nerve impulse) is a transient alteration of the transmembrane voltage (or membrane potential) across an excitable membrane generated by the activity of voltage-gated ion channels embedded in the membrane. Action potentials play multiple roles in several types of excitable cells such as neurons, myocytes, and electrocytes. The best known action potentials are pulse-like waves of voltage that travel along axons of neurons.

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News tagged with nerve impulses

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Nanoelectronic transistor combined with biological machine could lead to better electronics

Nanoelectronic transistor combined with biological machine could lead to better electronics

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Aug 10, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (11) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- If manmade devices could be combined with biological machines, laptops and other electronic devices could get a boost in operating efficiency.


Sandia researchers construct carbon nanotube device that can detect colors of the rainbow

Carbon nanotube device can detect colors of the rainbow

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Apr 30, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created the first carbon nanotube device that can detect the entire visible spectrum of light, a feat that could soon allow scientists to probe single molecule ...


Human ES cells progress slowly in myelin's direction

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 09, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Scientists from the University of Wisconsin, USA, report in the journal Development the successful generation from human embryonic stem cells of a type of cell that can make myelin, a finding that opens up new possibilities for bo ...


Study gives more proof that intelligence is largely inherited

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Mar 17, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (7) | comments 0

They say a picture tells a thousand stories, but can it also tell how smart you are? Actually, say UCLA researchers, it can.


Light instead of current: Activation of neurons with light by means of semiconductor photoelectrodes

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Feb 20, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Understanding the mechanisms by which the brain functions is one of the most complex challenges in science. One important aspect is the electrical conduction of stimuli in nerve cells. In order to study neuronal ...


How Bed Bugs Outsmart the Chemicals Designed to Control Them

Biology /

created Jan 08, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Bed bugs, once nearly eradicated in the built environment, have made a big comeback recently, especially in urban centers such as New York City. In the first study to explain the failure to control certain ...


New light shed on marine luminescence

New light shed on marine luminescence

Biology /

created Feb 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The phenomenon of light emission by living organisms, bioluminescence, is quite common, especially in marine species. It is known that light is generated by chemical reactions in which oxygen molecules play ...


Avastin effective at delaying brain tumor progression in recurrent disease

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Apr 06, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The use of Avastin alone to treat a subgroup of recurrent Grade 3 brain tumors showed it was safe and effective at delaying tumor progression, according to a retrospective study of 22 patients conducted by a researcher at ...