organelles

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.

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.

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.

A technique that reversibly bundles tagged cargo into artificial membraneless compartments gives scientists the ability to switch cell processes on and off.

Engineered cells produce proteins that allow scientists to turn cellular processes on and off.

Far from being inert fat-storage depots within cells, these lipid-loaded organelles recruit immune proteins and block bacterial growth.

What do scientists know about this membraneless nuclear body discovered less than two decades ago?

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.

Membraneless organelles appear highly sensitive to ion concentrations in their environment.

Optimized tweezers enable precise 3-D manipulations of a cell’s organelles.

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.

These icosahedral structures are composed of proteins with unique geometric properties, which enable bacteria to employ them in a variety of situations.

The physical principles that dictate the formation of these subcellular compartments are simple, but they dictate the organelles’ complex functions.

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.

Solving a long-standing structural puzzle will open the door to understanding one of the cell’s most enigmatic machines.

The ribosome-associated organelle consists of tightly packed tubes, not flat sheets as previously believed, according to new super-resolution microscopy images.

Researchers uncover the first example of a eukaryotic organism that lacks the organelles.

Associate Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder. Age: 43

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.