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.

Damage to the lysosome, the organelle that removes excess proteins, lipids, and other materials, might be at the root of the disease.

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. 

Scientists studying the basic molecular steps of Ebola infection identify a mammalian protein that is essential for the pathogen to infect mice.

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.

Christian de Duve chose to be euthanized at home in Belgium at age 95.

Two proteins interact to save adhesion molecules from degradation, potentially contributing to a more aggressive cancer.

Despite years of research, the longstanding mystery of where the autophagosome gets its double lipid bilayers is not much clearer.