Pumping ions

A nanodevice for rectification and pumping ions

The transport properties of single asymmetric nanopores in polyetheylene terephthalate ~PET! are examined. The pores were produced by a track etching technique based on the irradiation of the foils by swift heavy ions and subsequent chemical etching. Electrical conductivity measurements show that the nanopores in PET are cation selective and rectify the current with the preferential direction o...

How Cells Can Control Their Size by Pumping Ions

The ability of all cells to set and regulate their size is a fundamental aspect of cellular physiology. It has been known for sometime but not widely so, that size stability in animal cells is dependent upon the operation of the sodium pump, through the so-called pump-leak mechanism (Tosteson and Hoffman, 1960). Impermeant molecules in cells establish an unstable osmotic condition, the Donnan e...

Commentary: How Cells Can Control Their Size by Pumping Ions

Pumping ions: rapid parallel evolution of ionic regulation following habitat invasions.

Marine to freshwater colonizations constitute among the most dramatic evolutionary transitions in the history of life. This study examined evolution of ionic regulation following saline-to-freshwater transitions in an invasive species. In recent years, the copepod Eurytemora affinis has invaded freshwater habitats multiple times independently. We found parallel evolutionary shifts in ion-motive...

Double-resonance and optical-pumping experiments on electromagnetically confined, laser-cooled ions.

Experiments illustrating advantages and unique features of double-resonance and optical pumping on electromagnetically confined, laser-cooled ions are discussed. In certain cases, scattered light from the cooling transition can be used as a monitor in double-resonance experiments to give nearly 100% detection efficiency. Nonradiative relaxation rates are extremely small for stored ions, permitt...