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A 3D microscopic image of a heart tissue section with cardiac myocytes and macrophages.
Taking Out the Trash: An Alternative Cellular Disposal Pathway
Researchers reveal that cellular secretion removes defective mitochondria when lysosomes are dysfunctional.
Taking Out the Trash: An Alternative Cellular Disposal Pathway
Taking Out the Trash: An Alternative Cellular Disposal Pathway

Researchers reveal that cellular secretion removes defective mitochondria when lysosomes are dysfunctional.

Researchers reveal that cellular secretion removes defective mitochondria when lysosomes are dysfunctional.

lysosomes

Two cells fluorescently stained for normal (red) and damaged (green) lysosomes.
Cancer Cells Spread When They Stop Recycling Waste
Kamal Nahas, PhD | May 8, 2024 | 4 min read
An immune-inhibiting protein that regulates autophagy halts breast cancers from venturing across tissue borders.
Keeping Kidneys Healthy with a Hand from AI
Aparna Nathan, PhD | Dec 11, 2023 | 3 min read
Researchers found new mechanisms and drug targets for cystinosis.
Light blue dots forming keys over a navy background with small red dots.
A Double Lock Gates Calcium Signaling
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Nov 13, 2023 | 6 min read
Recent studies settle a debate over how the second messenger NAADP, with no known binding site, evokes calcium release from ion channels. 
Lipofuscin autofluorescence was quenched using TrueBlack®, allowing effective visualization of glial cells (GFAP antibody stain, cyan) and cell nuclei (magenta) in human cerebral cortex cryosections.
Stepping Out of the Background
The Scientist Staff | Oct 2, 2023 | 1 min read
New innovations for reducing nonspecific fluorescence offer researchers clearer pictures and more multiplexing possibilities.
Artist’s rendering of various orange and pink colored bacteria
Q&A: What if Immune Cells Don’t Actually Detect Viruses and Bacteria?
Dan Robitzski | Feb 3, 2023 | 10+ min read
The Scientist spoke with Jonathan Kagan about his idea that immune cells respond to “errors” made by unsuccessful pathogens, not the pathogens themselves.
a false color transmission electron microscope image of a neuronal cell body, with lysosomes colored dark green
Scientists Uncover Major Pathway Cells Use to Mend Leaky Lysosomes
Holly Barker, PhD | Oct 6, 2022 | 3 min read
Damaged lysosomes are repaired by a lipid-based signaling pathway dubbed PITT that could be targeted to treat neurodegenerative disease, its discoverers say.
A colored microscope image of a cross section of a human artery filled with fatty plaques
Protein-Recycling Process Protective Against Arterial Plaques
Clare Watson | Aug 1, 2022 | 2 min read
A team of scientists has found that in mice, a cellular housekeeping pathway protects against a major cause of heart attacks and strokes.
3D illustration showing neurons inside the brain
Experimental Pill to Treat Parkinson’s Is Safe, Trial Finds
Andy Carstens | Jun 10, 2022 | 2 min read
Testing in animals and lab-grown cells suggests the experimental drug could enhance the function of lysosomes within cells.
SARS-CoV-2 Exits Cells Via Lysosomes
Abby Olena, PhD | Nov 13, 2020 | 4 min read
A study finds that β-coronaviruses don’t use the normal secretory pathway, a possible explanation for some aspects of COVID-19 pathology.
Is It Time to Rethink Parkinson’s Pathology?
Ashley Yeager | Oct 1, 2019 | 10+ min read
New evidence points to a waste-clearing problem in patients’ cells, rather than the accumulation of protein tangles, as the root cause of the neurodegenerative disease.
Infographic: Is Cellular Waste at the Root of Parkinson’s Disease?
Ashley Yeager | Oct 1, 2019 | 1 min read
Damage to the lysosome, the organelle that removes excess proteins, lipids, and other materials, might be at the root of the disease.
Image of the Day: Lysosomes Go Traveling
The Scientist | Aug 8, 2017 | 1 min read
To chew up waste in far-reaching dendritic spines, lysosomes are trafficked sometimes hundreds of microns away from the cell bodies of neurons in rats. 
Ebola’s Cellular Key
Amanda B. Keener | May 27, 2015 | 2 min read
Scientists studying the basic molecular steps of Ebola infection identify a mammalian protein that is essential for the pathogen to infect mice.
Waste-Management Consultant
Megan Scudellari | Nov 1, 2013 | 9 min read
By audaciously pursuing an abandoned area of research, Ana María Cuervo discovered how cells selectively break down their waste, and revealed the health consequences when that process malfunctions.
Discoverer of Lysosomes Dies
Kate Yandell | May 8, 2013 | 2 min read
Christian de Duve chose to be euthanized at home in Belgium at age 95.
A Malignant Alliance
Megan Scudellari | Apr 1, 2012 | 2 min read
Two proteins interact to save adhesion molecules from degradation, potentially contributing to a more aggressive cancer.
The Enigmatic Membrane
Muriel Mari, Sharon A. Tooze, and Fulvio Reggiori | Feb 1, 2012 | 10+ min read
Despite years of research, the longstanding mystery of where the autophagosome gets its double lipid bilayers is not much clearer.
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