Breaking New Cell Biology Research

TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) participates in many important cellular processes innate immunity, metabolism and organelle quality control. This study identifies new functions for TBK1 at lysosomes where it is important for the ability of cells to properly respond to changes in amino acid availability. This study shows that TBK1 undergoes dynamic recruitment to lysosomes when amino acids are abundant and that this results in an activation of TBK1. It furthermore identifies Rab7 as an important target of TBK1 at lysosomes that is critical for the ability of TBK1 to activate the mechanistic target of rapamcyin complex 1 (mTORC1), a major regulator of anabolic processes. Interestingly, a TBK1 mutant that causes neurodegenerative diseases...

Yale President Peter Salovey hosted a celebration of stem cell biologist Haifan Lin as he received the Amory Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Super-resolution microscopy reveals the local distribution of proteins inside cells at the nanoscale but is in practice limited to visualizing only 2 to 3 different proteins in the same cell. FLASH-PAINT breaks this limit and empowers cell biologists to interrogate the complex spatial relationships between an essentially unlimited number of different molecules.

Declines in the death rate for breast cancer have furthered overall progress in cancer mortality.

In her Nature Cell Biology piece, Karla Neugebauer discusses linking cell biology with climate change, highlighting her course on Biochemistry and Climate. She emphasizes the molecular basis of environmental impacts. Neugebauer urges integrating climate change into STEM curricula for a holistic understanding and inspires action from the next generation.

Scientist Haifan Lin has been awarded the Francis Amory Prize in Reproductive Medicine and Physiology by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Avinash Kumar discusses science and life with our invited speaker Dr. Shixin Liu.

A breakthrough microscopy technique now enables researchers to observe previously unseen molecular processes within genetic material.

This research reveals a novel pathway that integrates multiple signals related to lysosome stress in order to activate leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2). Mutations that increase LRRK2 kinase activity are major contributors to Parkinson’s disease risk. Therefore, the lysosome perturbations that were defined in this study may increase Parkinson's disease risk by raising LRRK2 kinase activity. In other words, this research suggests that an exaggerated response to lysosome quality control may contribute Parkinson's disease risk.