Exciting Times for PIP 2

One class of potassium channels, the KATP channels, are key players in a variety of functions-insulin secretion, blood vessel tone, and the response of the heart to lack of oxygen. Ashcroft describes in her Perspective how new results in this issue explain a long-standing puzzle about the true sensitivity of these channels to ATP. Baukrowitz et al. and Shyng et al. show that the phospholipid PIPregulates the ATP sensitivity of these channels.