video: Scientists in Jianmin Cui's lab at Washington University in St. Louis study ion channels important in heart contraction and neural activity. Many experiments involve mutating the DNA that codes for the channel protein and then using frog eggs as miniature factories to produce mutated channels whose functioning is then examined by the voltage clamp technique. Research is showing that many medical disorders may be caused by malfunctioning ion channels. More than 300 mutations, for example, have been found in a cardiac channel, some of which are associated with arrhythmias. view more
Credit: Clark A. Bowen/Washington University in St. Louis