Almost all living organisms from bacteria to humans have gate-like protein complexes in their cell membranes that get rid of unwanted or life-threatening molecules. This is not always advantageous, since in the case of bacteria or cancer cells, these complexes, known as ABC transporters, are also responsible for resistance to antibiotics or chemotherapy. Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt, together with the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, which is also located in Frankfurt, have now succeeded in decrypting all the stages of the transport mechanism.
