This post was written by Janelle Weaver, PhD, a freelance writer.

When cells are faced with unfavorable environmental conditions, such as limited nutrient availability, the activation of adaptive stress responses can help protect them against damage or death. For example, stressed cells can maintain sufficient energy levels for survival by degrading and recycling unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components. This survival mechanism, known as autophagy (literally, ‘self-digestion’), also plays key roles in a variety of biological processes such as development and aging, and is often perturbed in various diseases. Even though tight control of autophagy is key to survival, relatively little is known about the signaling molecules that regulate this essential process. Continue reading “Newly discovered cell stress pathway could hold therapeutic promise for diverse diseases”