Long-Time Mystery, The Molecular Architecture of Mitochondrial Protein Transport Complex, Solved

Monash researchers, working with colleagues in Japan, have shown how molecules manage this sub-cellular voyage and have visualized the process with new, atomic-resolution imaging - in real time. The discovery reveals what has been an essential mystery in biology and is published on 25 September in the journal Science.

According to the lead researcher, Professor Trevor Lithgow, from the newly launched Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, the discovery means that scientists can now use the technology to determine how any molecule passes through any membrane. "How large molecules like proteins get in and out of membranes has long been a mystery. We have shown that this technology can be applied to solve the atomic scale details for all sorts of fundamental pathways going on in cells, opening the way to direct applications for medical research" he said.