By preserving a lipid critical to cellular cleanup, researchers improved a severe neurodegenerative condition in both cells and mice – a finding that could have widespread applications in medicine.

One form of “trash” that can cause problems is excess cholesterol. A healthy lysosome handles cholesterol and transports it to other parts of the cell. But when this transporting function is dulled – as is often the case in neurodegenerative disease – cholesterol molecules build up so much that they lead to inflammation and death of cells.