Cells regulate their internal environment using a sensitive network of membrane channels that control the flow of ions and water molecules into and out of the cells (SN: 10/18/03, p. 246: Available to subscribers at Nobel Prize in Chemistry Opens Channels: Research reveals vital function of tiny pores in cell membranes). Two new studies published in the July 8 Nature claim that compounds in tarantula venom interfere with these channels in an unusual way.
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