Nature Podcast

00:46 Mitochondria divide their labour to help cells thriveResearchers have uncovered that mitochondria divide into two distinct forms when cells are starved, a finding that could help explain how some cancers thrive in hostile conditions. Mitochondria are cellular powerhouses, creating energy and vital metabolic molecules, but how they are able to do this when resources are limited has been a mystery. It turns out that in nutrient-poor situations, mitochondria split into two separate types, one which concentrates on energy production, the other on producing essential cellular building blocks. Together these allow cells to make everything they need. The team showed that this also happens in certain cancer cells, which may help them survive and grow under hostile conditions in the body.Research Article: Ryu et al.News and Views: Division of labour: mitochondria split to meet energy demandsVideo: A new kind of mitochondrion07:53 Research HighlightsA tidy genome may explain naked mole rats’ long lifespans, and w