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Scientific American

October 7, 2016

Autophagy, Illustrated

A graphic from the Scientific American archive shows how cells clean house—the basics behind this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

By Jen Christiansen

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

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Earlier this week, Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the underlying mechanisms of autophagy—the process by which cells break down and recycle their own contents. How does autophagy work? Here are the basics, as drawn for the article “How Cells Clean House,” by Vojo Deretic and Daniel Klionsky (Scientific American, May 2008).

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Credit: JEN CHRISTIANSEN

For more on autophagy, listen to Juleen Zierath, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, explain Ohsumi's research on Science Talk.

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Jen Christiansen is author of the book Building Science Graphics: An Illustrated Guide to Communicating Science through Diagrams and Visualizations (CRC Press) and senior graphics editor at Scientific American, where she art directs and produces illustrated explanatory diagrams and data visualizations. In 1996 she began her publishing career in New York City at Scientific American. Subsequently she moved to Washington, D.C., to join the staff of National Geographic (first as an assistant art director–researcher hybrid and then as a designer), spent four years as a freelance science communicator and returned to Scientific American in 2007. Christiansen presents and writes on topics ranging from reconciling her love for art and science to her quest to learn more about the pulsar chart on the cover of Joy Division's album Unknown Pleasures. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a B.A. in geology and studio art from Smith College. Follow Christiansen on X (formerly Twitter) @ChristiansenJen

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