Mitochondria News and Research

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New Method Enables Human Cells to Initiate Meiosis Outside the Body

More than one-sixth of adults around the world experience infertility in their lifetime. There is a high unmet need not only for increased access to affordable, high-quality fertility care for those in need but, importantly, also for new biomedical solutions that can address the root causes of infertility.

18 Aug 2025

Case Western Researchers Use Stem Cells to “Shut Off” Nerve Cell Strain

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is an incurable neurological disease that affects motor neurons, which are nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that regulate voluntary muscle movement and breathing.

6 Aug 2025

There’s Something Fishy Going on with Great White Sharks that Scientists Can’t Explain

White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) almost went bottom-up during the last ice age, when sea levels were much lower than they are today and sharks had to get by with less space.

6 Aug 2025

Mitochondrial Gene Found to Regulate Wood Formation in Poplar

Mitochondria are widely known as the "powerhouses" of the cell, generating the energy needed for life. But in plants, their role goes far beyond metabolism.

31 Jul 2025

Cancer Cells Trigger Instant Energy Surge When Squeezed

Cancer cells mount an instant, energy‑rich response to being physically squeezed, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications.

31 Jul 2025

Researchers Identify Key Gene for Restoring Fertility in Hybrid Peppers

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) systems have revolutionized hybrid seed production by eliminating the need for manual pollen removal.

30 Jul 2025

Discovery of New Mitophagy Trigger Offers Hope for Parkinson’s Disease

Autophagy is essentially the 'rubbish collection' of our cells. If there are problems in this process, which is so important for our health, diseases such as Parkinson's can result. In their latest study, leading cell biologists at the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna investigated mitophagy – a form of autophagy – and came to a remarkable conclusion: the researchers have described a new trigger for mitophagy.

29 Jul 2025

Misfolded Proteins in Mitochondria Linked to Type 2 Diabetes

Aging-related diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disorders and type 2 diabetes, are associated with defects in protein synthesis and folding.

23 Jul 2025

New Chemical Tool Protects Mitochondrial DNA from Environmental Damage

When environmental stress harms DNA, it can set off a cascade of failures linked to heart conditions, neurodegeneration, and chronic inflammation.

22 Jul 2025

Brain Cells Show Unexpected Self-Sufficiency in Energy Use

A new Yale study has revealed that neurons - the energy-hungry cells that connect and direct activity in the brain - are equipped with "backup batteries" that kick in to keep the brain running during periods of metabolic stress.

18 Jul 2025

Breakthrough Imaging Technique Reveals Mitochondrial Dynamics in Living Tissues

In this study, researcher developed a new imaging approach that combines two powerful techniques to solve this problem. First, a special type of microscope called a two-photon microscope is used, which can look deep into live tissues with minimal damage.

14 Jul 2025

SNAP-tag2 System Improves Protein Imaging with Faster, Brighter Labeling

SNAP-tag2 boosts live-cell imaging with faster labeling, brighter fluorescence, and better protein tracking across biological systems.

11 Jul 2025

Reinvigorating T Cells Offers Hope for More Effective Cancer Immunotherapy

CD8⁺ T cells are the immune system's frontline warriors, charged with detecting and eliminating cancer cells. But in the hostile and chronic environment of tumors, these cells often falter.

8 Jul 2025

New Tool Reveals RNA Locations Inside Cells With Nanoscale Precision

A new tool called PHOTON, developed by scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center, can identify RNA molecules at their native locations within cells – providing valuable clues to where different RNA species are distributed spatially in response to various cellular cues.

30 Jun 2025

Chromosome Imbalance Disrupts Mitochondria Through Protein Aggregates

It has been known for several years that abnormal chromosome numbers lead to protein imbalances in the affected cells. Researchers at RPTU have now investigated the detailed effects of such imbalances.

30 Jun 2025

Yeast Model Offers Insight Into Proteasome and Mitochondria Interplay

A study by the Center for Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxoma) led by Marilene Demasi from the Butantan Institute (São Paulo, Brazil) presents a valuable new experimental model for investigating the interaction between the proteasome and mitochondrial function.

30 Jun 2025

Genetic Tool Successfully Repairs Mitochondrial Mutations in Human Cells

In a step toward treating mitochondrial diseases, researchers in the Netherlands have successfully edited harmful mutations in mitochondrial DNA using a genetic tool known as a base editor.

25 Jun 2025

Repairing DNA Double-Strand Breaks May Improve Genomic Stability by Limiting Organelle-to-Nucleus Gene Transfer

A new study in Nature Plants reveals that DNA double-strand break repair (DSBR) pathways help prevent gene transfer from organelles to the nucleus in plants. Disruption of DSBR increases the risk of genomic instability through endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT).

2 Jun 2025

Study Challenges Longstanding Mitochondrial Theory of Aging

The human genome is broadly classified into the genome residing in the cell nucleus (nuclear DNA) and the genome residing in the mitochondria (mitochondrial DNA: mtDNA). Mitochondria are cell organelles that produce energy essential for life activities through oxidative phosphorylation (mitochondrial respiration), and mtDNA encodes a set of genes required for mitochondrial respiration.

27 May 2025

Study Shows How Age-Related Metabolic Decline Impairs the Efficacy of CAR-T Cell Therapy

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has discovered that the metabolic decline that accompanies aging impairs the efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy, an immunotherapy in which T cells of the immune system are taken from patients, engineered to target cancer cells and reinfused into the same patients for treatment.

26 May 2025