Recycling a cell's energy centers to ward off Parkinson's disease

Scientists have long known that living cells are master recyclers, constantly breaking down old parts and building them back up into new molecular machines. Now, researchers at Gladstone Institutes have taken a closer look at the life cycle of energy-generating cellular power plants—called mitochondria— inside brain cells, and how they might be recycled. They showed that genes associated with Parkinson's disease play key roles in this process.