GOTCHA! An incoming molecule of the neurotransmitter glutamate (red) makes the lobes (green) snap shut (right) in this depiction of a nanosensor anchored to the surface of a nerve cell. The change in configuration alters the distance between the two fluorescent protein segments (blue and yellow cylinders), resulting in an optical signal.
Credit: S. Okumoto
Found in: Technology
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Review by Janet Raloff
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