Cells have more mini ‘organs’ than researchers thought − unbound by membranes, these rogue organelles challenge biology’s fundamentals

By: Allan Albig, Boise State University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: December 14, 2025

Words: 1,151

Last Updated: 3 months, 1 week ago

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By Allan Albig, Boise State University

Think back to that basic biology class you took in high school. You probably learned about organelles, those little “organs” inside cells that form compartments with individual functions. For example, mitochondria produce energy, lysosomes recycle waste and the nucleus stores DNA. Although each organelle has a different function, they are similar in that every one is wrapped up in a membrane.

Membrane-bound organelles were the textbook standard of how …

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