Erwin Neher

Erwin Neher is a German biophysicist who shared the 1991 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Bert Sakmann for developing the patch-clamp technique and studying ion channels.

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Ion channel: A membrane protein that lets selected ions cross a cell membrane through a gated pore. These proteins were the targets whose tiny electrical currents Neher learned to measure.
Patch-clamp technique: An electrophysiological method that records ionic currents through a sealed patch of cell membrane. Neher and Bert Sakmann developed this method to resolve currents from individual channels.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: An annual international award recognizing discoveries in physiology or medicine. Neher and Sakmann received the 1991 prize for discoveries concerning the function of single ion channels in cells.
Neuroscience: The scientific study of the nervous system, including its structure, function, development, and disorders. Patch-clamp recordings reveal the channel activity underlying neuronal signaling.
Cell membrane: A lipid-based boundary that separates a cell from its surroundings and regulates exchange. Patch-clamp recordings isolate a small area of this boundary.
Gigaseal: A high-resistance electrical seal formed between a glass micropipette and a cell membrane. The seal suppresses leakage current, making tiny channel currents measurable.
Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry: A research institute in Göttingen, Germany, focused on biological and chemical processes at molecular scales. Neher conducted much of his influential ion-channel research at this institute.
Cardiac electrophysiology: The study of electrical activity in the heart and the cellular processes that generate it. Cardiac researchers use patch clamp to characterize channels shaping heartbeat rhythms.
Action potential: A rapid, temporary change in a cell’s membrane voltage that can propagate along excitable cells. Channel currents measured by Neher help explain the electrical signals neurons and muscles produce.
Single-channel recording: An electrical recording that resolves current passing through an individual ion channel. This capability revealed discrete channel openings rather than only averaged membrane activity.