Amy Adams | Oct 10, 2004 | 8 min read
Professors P. Motta & T. Naguro/Photo ResearchersEach of our cells hangs in a delicate balance between life and death. Which path the cell takes depends on a dense web of signaling pathways that all converge on a single cellular switch, the mitochondrion. Most of the time, pro-life signals keep the mitochondrial membrane intact and encourage the organelle to churn out ATP. But when signals from the outside or accumulated toxins within the cell tip the scales, mitochondria push the cell down