Researchers led by Ohio State's Jonathan Davis say they developed a protein engineering approach to preserve heart function, tailoring the heart's ability to respond to calcium, which is the signal for contraction. They successfully tested this approach on mice. "Essentially, it's like adjusting a radio dial to tune in the music you want to hear. If you don't adjust the radio, or receptor, the signal just passes by undetected," Davis said. "When we modify, or tune the receptor, it's able to get the right message to tell the heart muscle how hard to contract." Release