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A ball-and-stick plus ribbons molecular model of the hormone orexin, also known as hypocretin, isolated on a white background.
2023 Breakthrough Prizes Showcase Research in AI and Narcolepsy
Three prizes were awarded to six researchers working across the life sciences on cellular organization, protein structure, and the genetic underpinnings of a chronic sleep disorder.
2023 Breakthrough Prizes Showcase Research in AI and Narcolepsy
2023 Breakthrough Prizes Showcase Research in AI and Narcolepsy

Three prizes were awarded to six researchers working across the life sciences on cellular organization, protein structure, and the genetic underpinnings of a chronic sleep disorder.

Three prizes were awarded to six researchers working across the life sciences on cellular organization, protein structure, and the genetic underpinnings of a chronic sleep disorder.

organelles

A microscope image of Legionellales bacteria infecting a protozoan
Ancestral Bacteria May Have Invaded Early Eukaryotic Cells
Clare Watson | Jun 1, 2022 | 2 min read
The discovery that a group of cell-infecting bacteria lived roughly 2 billion years ago stirs a longstanding controversy around which came first: phagocytosis or mitochondria.
Photo of Brooke Gardner
Brooke Gardner Probes the Cell’s Peroxisomes
Chloe Tenn | Dec 1, 2021 | 3 min read
The University of California, Santa Barbara, cell biologist is investigating the formation and functions of the peroxisome, an organelle which exists in many copies in each cell and can be created, lost, or altered to meet the cell’s metabolic needs.
Scanning electron micrograph showing cancer cell attached to T call via nanotube
Cancer Cell Nanotubes Hijack Mitochondria from Immune Sentinels
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Nov 30, 2021 | 3 min read
The mitochondria stolen via these tiny connections give tumor cells a metabolic boost while the T cells are left weakened, according to in vitro experiments.
Abstract graphene structures
Synthetic Organelles Let Researchers Control Cell Behavior
Catherine Offord | Nov 1, 2021 | 3 min read
A technique that reversibly bundles tagged cargo into artificial membraneless compartments gives scientists the ability to switch cell processes on and off.
Illustration showing how engineered cells produce proteins that allow scientists to turn cellular processes on and off
Infographic: One Way to Flip the Cell Behavior Switch
Catherine Offord | Nov 1, 2021 | 1 min read
Engineered cells produce proteins that allow scientists to turn cellular processes on and off.
Lipid Droplets Are Intracellular Bacteria-Fighting Machines
Ruth Williams | Oct 15, 2020 | 3 min read
Far from being inert fat-storage depots within cells, these lipid-loaded organelles recruit immune proteins and block bacterial growth.
Infographic: Paraspeckle Form and Function
Archa Fox | Dec 1, 2019 | 2 min read
What do scientists know about this membraneless nuclear body discovered less than two decades ago?
What Paraspeckles Can Teach Us About Basic Cell Biology
Archa Fox | Dec 1, 2019 | 10+ min read
Discovering a new type of subnuclear body taught me how pursuing the unexpected can lead to new insights—in this case, about long noncoding RNAs and liquid-liquid phase separation in cells.
RNA droplets
Image of the Day: Liquid Compartments
Nicoletta Lanese | Aug 28, 2019 | 1 min read
Membraneless organelles appear highly sensitive to ion concentrations in their environment.
magnetic tweezers
Intracellular Magnetic Manipulations
Ruth Williams | Jun 1, 2019 | 2 min read
Optimized tweezers enable precise 3-D manipulations of a cell’s organelles.
Bacteria Harbor Geometric “Organelles”
Amber Dance | Dec 1, 2018 | 10+ min read
Microbes, traditionally thought to lack organelles, get a metabolic boost from geometric compartments that act as cauldrons for chemical reactions. Bioengineers are eager to harness the compartments for their own purposes.
Infographic: Bacterial Microcompartments Basics
Amber Dance | Dec 1, 2018 | 1 min read
These icosahedral structures are composed of proteins with unique geometric properties, which enable bacteria to employ them in a variety of situations.
Infographic: What Are Membraneless Organelles?
Michael Crabtree and Tim Nott | Dec 1, 2018 | 2 min read
The physical principles that dictate the formation of these subcellular compartments are simple, but they dictate the organelles’ complex functions.
These Organelles Have No Membranes
Michael Crabtree and Tim Nott | Dec 1, 2018 | 10+ min read
From making ribosomes to protecting the integrity of the genome, these membraneless compartments play important roles in the cell. Their behavior is rooted in basic physics.
Nuclear Pores Come into Sharper Focus
André Hoelz and Daniel H. Lin | Dec 1, 2016 | 10 min read
Solving a long-standing structural puzzle will open the door to understanding one of the cell’s most enigmatic machines.
Structural Details of Endoplasmic Reticulum Revealed
Jef Akst | Oct 28, 2016 | 1 min read
The ribosome-associated organelle consists of tightly packed tubes, not flat sheets as previously believed, according to new super-resolution microscopy images.
Mysterious Eukaryote Missing Mitochondria
Anna Azvolinsky | May 12, 2016 | 3 min read
Researchers uncover the first example of a eukaryotic organism that lacks the organelles.
Gia Voeltz: Cellular Cartographer
Karen Zusi | Dec 1, 2015 | 3 min read
Associate Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder. Age: 43
A Vaulted Mystery
Eufemia S. Putortì and Massimo P. Crippa | Aug 1, 2014 | 10+ min read
Nearly 30 years after the discovery of tiny barrel-shape structures called vaults, their natural functions remain elusive. Nevertheless, researchers are beginning to put these nanoparticles to work in biomedicine.
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