Research conducted by Toyohashi University of Technology in collaboration with Tohoku University elucidated the fusion process of proteoliposomes with an artificial lipid bilayer and the mechanism behind this process. In addition, the researchers also discovered that the domains composed of all cell membrane components exist as “islands” isolated from the artificial membrane. These findings will lead to further understanding of the functions of membrane proteins, which are an important target of drug development, as well as the development of experimental techniques. The results of this research were published in Scientific Reports on December 20, 2017.