Xu and colleagues were investigating the turnover of epithelial cells that line the intestines of fruit flies. As with the human small intestine, the epithelial tissue in the midgut of adult fruit ...

Sub-cellular organelles are distinct units that perform specific functions within cells. Recent years have seen an increase in research into the physiological importance of the interactions between ...

Bacteria are only the only organisms that are able to 'fix' nitrogen, or remove it from the atmosphere and convert it into a useful form. While some plants seem to fix nitrogen, it is actually ...

The discovery of an unknown organelle inside our cells could open the door to new treatments for devastating inherited diseases. The organelle, a type of specialized structure, has been dubbed a ...

Cells use compartments known as organelles to sequester molecules or reactions as a way to control many biochemical processes. Scientists would like to do the same by engineering synthetic organelles ...

Scientists have identified a new organelle in liver cells called the mitochondria-lysosome-related organelle (MLRO). This discovery could improve our understanding of chronic liver diseases like ...

Two studies by scientists at the University of Chicago have demonstrated a new way to look into the inner workings of cells—in particular, to track the flow of ions inside the many tiny organelles ...

Hemifusomes are fused vesicles, or sacs of fluid, that were previously unknown to exist inside cells. They were discovered using cryo-electron tomography, which literally freezes them in time, and ...