Subcellular structures are distinct, spatially organized physical systems within cells, encompassing membrane-bound organelles (e.g., mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes), non-membranous bodies (e.g., ribosomes, cytoskeleton, centrosomes), and specialized compartments (e.g., nucleolus, stress granules). They are defined by specific molecular compositions, biophysical properties, and emergent functions such as energy transduction, macromolecular synthesis, intracellular trafficking, signal transduction, and mechanical support. As physical systems, they exhibit dynamic self-assembly, phase separation, and regulated turnover, and their organization is governed by principles of thermodynamics, molecular crowding, and active processes driven by nucleotide hydrolysis and cytoskeletal forces.
When a human cell prepares to split into two daughter cells, it must first construct a tiny internal machine called the mitotic spindle—a structure of protein fibers that physically pulls chromosomes apart and deposits one ...
Molecular & Computational biology
6 hours ago
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Researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at NUS have developed a new method that allows scientists to better understand how DNA is organized and regulated inside cells. The study, published ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 6, 2026
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The formation of supramolecular polymers within living cells is an emerging strategy for regulating cellular functions, and lipid droplets (LDs) are promising environments for such processes. LDs are cellular organelles composed ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 6, 2026
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Researchers at the University of Münster and Ruhr University Bochum have demonstrated for the first time in real time that the body's own defense cells use catecholamines—neurotransmitters such as dopamine and adrenaline—to ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 3, 2026
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35
Nanoparticles are widely used in medicine to deliver drugs, genes or imaging agents to specific parts of the body. Once a nanoparticle reaches a cell, however, many things can happen—it can reach its target, be degraded, ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 2, 2026
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Female fertility depends on the successful growth and maturation of eggs (oocytes) within ovarian follicles. Within these follicles, the oocyte is surrounded by granulosa cells that supply nutrients, signaling molecules and ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 2, 2026
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Embedded in the boundary between the inside and outside of each cell are membrane proteins. They act as first responders by sensing signals, regulating which molecules enter and leave the cell, and enabling cells to quickly ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 2, 2026
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Inside every cell are lipid molecules that make up cellular membranes, helping organelles communicate and respond to stress. Researchers have struggled to observe lipids in action because current detection tools lack sufficient ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 2, 2026
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26
The reefs scattered throughout the tropics arose only after algae took up full-time residence in coral cells, supplying corals with abundant food and enabling them to build extensive shallow-water communities. But with warming ...
Ecology
Jul 1, 2026
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45
Every year, bacteria kill more than a million people worldwide through infections that no longer respond to antibiotics. In many cases, why those bacteria are so hard to stop comes down to their uniquely powerful structure.
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 30, 2026
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