Knowledge in Practice: one paper, one week.

Here, we select one paper per week and take a closer look, sharing its story with more people! For the daily posts, please visit our LinkedIn page.

The first paper we discussed was published in January 2026, titled "Zombosomes are anucleated cell couriers that spread α-synuclein pathology", by Dakhel, Erlandsson, & collegues.

The Day Scientists Met the “Zombosomes”

The brain works because its cells are constantly communicating with one another. Among the busiest of these communicators are astrocytes, the brain’s caretaker cells. They quietly sense what’s happening around them and help keep everything running smoothly. But in illness, those same communication pathways can sometimes be hijacked, allowing harmful proteins or even cancer cells to spread. To understand disease, scientists first need to understand how brain cells communicate.

While watching astrocytes under a microscope, researchers noticed something strange. Tiny structures were budding off from the cells and starting to move on their own. They weren’t drifting randomly like dust in water, but rather, they were travelling with purpose. Even more surprising, they didn’t have a nucleus, the control center we normally associate with living cells. The researchers gave them a fitting name: zombosomes.

Zombosomes turned out to be packed with a protein called vimentin, which astrocytes use when they are stressed or reshaping themselves. Inside these tiny travellers, vimentin forms a dense core that gives them strength. They also carry other astrocyte proteins and even intact mitochondria, the cell’s power house, which may help fuel their movement. In many ways, zombosomes look like little survival pods, built to move.

What makes this discovery especially powerful is that it can be seen. With modern imaging tools, scientists can watch zombosomes crawl across a surface in real time. A complex biological idea suddenly becomes a moving picture; something anyone can witness at a glance. It’s a reminder that science doesn’t have to feel distant or complicated. Sometimes, with the right tools and a good story, even the most unexpected discoveries can come to life in ways that feel clear, engaging, and almost magical.

Graphical Abstract: Dakhel A, Erlandsson A., et al. Zombosomes are anucleated cell couriers that spread α-synuclein pathology. Cell Rep. 2026 Jan.