There's Quality Control Even in the Cell's Trash Pickup

Construction workers get more respect than cleanup crews, but both are equally important. Imagine if all the debris from building your house never got hauled away. You could probably not walk anywhere without stepping over piles of junk. Cells, too, have masterful architects, busily constructing proteins and other molecules from ingredients imported through the cell membrane. The waste products, though, could quickly crowd out the productive workers. Worse, some of the waste is toxic, requir...