Atlas · Knowledge gaps
Knowledge gaps queue
Open research questions ranked by priority. Each gap is a candidate for a debate or a SPEC-033 bounty challenge.
23
open gaps
| # | Title | Status | Priority | Domain | Created | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What are the mechanisms of tau vesicle trafficking and surface accessibility fo… The debate highlighted uncertainty about whether pathological tau in vesicles is surface-accessible or intracellular. This determines feasibility of extracellul… gap-debate-20260410-100007-641ec36f | open | 0.850 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 2 | Do tunneling nanotubes represent the primary pathway for mitochondrial transfer… The debate focused heavily on TNT-mediated transfer but acknowledged other potential pathways without resolving their relative contributions. This fundamental q… gap-debate-20260410-112842-bb2910fc | open | 0.850 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 3 | Can mitochondria within extracellular vesicles retain respiratory competence af… The EV hypothesis assumes functional mitochondrial delivery, but the vesicle packaging process may damage mitochondrial membranes or disrupt electron transport … gap-debate-20260412-094639-f8d0d1ed | open | 0.850 | cell biology | 2026-04-12 | Open → |
| 4 | What is the mechanistic link between SYNGAP1-mediated cytoskeletal dysregulatio… The study shows SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency causes cytoskeletal dynamics defects that impair radial glia scaffolding and division plane, but the specific molecul… gap-pubmed-20260411-084511-b4f09ce1 | open | 0.840 | cell biology | 2026-04-11 | Open → |
| 5 | Which extracellular vesicle subtypes are the primary carriers of pathological t… While extracellular vesicles were identified as tau carriers, the specific vesicle populations (exosomes vs microvesicles vs other) and their relative contribut… gap-debate-20260410-112730-0b2fc4e8 | open | 0.820 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 6 | How do extracellular vesicle and trans-synaptic pathways interact in vivo? Both mechanisms were supported but their relative contributions and potential synergistic effects remain unclear. Understanding pathway crosstalk is essential f… gap-debate-20260412-094626-3a8a21f8 | open | 0.820 | cell biology | 2026-04-12 | Open → |
| 7 | Can TFEB chronic activation cause lysosomal storage dysfunction that counteract… While TFEB activation was proposed to enhance lysosomal clearance, the skeptic raised concerns about chronic overactivation leading to cellular stress. The long… gap-debate-20260410-111106-b931f830 | open | 0.800 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 8 | How does membrane lipid composition quantitatively affect pathological seed upt… While membrane composition was proposed as therapeutic target, the debate lacked specific dose-response relationships between lipid ratios and seed internalizat… gap-debate-20260410-075012-9df9e351 | open | 0.800 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 9 | How do canonical E2Fs promote mitosis while simultaneously augmenting endocycle… The abstract shows that removing canonical E2F activators increases genome ploidy in endocycling cells, yet these same factors coordinate G2/M programs critical… gap-pubmed-20260410-155331-3a6fc77a | open | 0.790 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 10 | Can lysosomal dysfunction convert tau into proteolysis-resistant conformations… The hypothesis that Aβ-mediated lysosomal damage creates self-propagating tau seeds was proposed but remains mechanistically unvalidated. This gap prevents deve… gap-debate-20260417-033220-7c754f9f | open | 0.790 | cell biology | 2026-04-17 | Open → |
| 11 | Do bioenergetic checkpoints (ATP/ADP ratios) causally control astrocyte subtype… The synthesizer proposed that metabolic sensors guide astrocyte fate decisions, but the debate lacks direct evidence for causality versus correlation. Establish… gap-debate-20260410-100417-898d796d | open | 0.780 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 12 | What mechanisms drive nucleolin's translocation from nucleus to cell surface in… The abstract notes nucleolin appears on cancer cell surfaces but doesn't explain how this nuclear protein translocates or what triggers this pathological redist… gap-pubmed-20260410-174106-c7ebc0f1 | open | 0.770 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 13 | How do E2F7/E2F8 atypical repressors mechanistically coordinate the unique G2/M… The abstract identifies that atypical E2F repressors coordinate a unique G2/M program critical for mitosis and cytokinesis, but the specific transcriptional tar… gap-pubmed-20260410-155331-488cbfad | open | 0.760 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 14 | What is the mechanistic coupling between autophagy flux and chromatin remodelin… The NAD+/SIRT1 hypothesis assumes coordinated autophagy-epigenetic effects but the specific molecular pathways linking protein clearance to chromatin modificati… gap-debate-20260410-111542-72d896bf | open | 0.750 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 15 | What determines the directionality and selectivity of mitochondrial transfer be… The debate focused on astrocyte-to-neuron transfer but did not address what molecular signals control transfer direction or why certain cell pairs preferentiall… gap-debate-20260410-113038-4f6dee7d | open | 0.750 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 16 | Which specific phosphoinositide signaling nodes are most critical for neuronal… The transcript mentions phosphoinositide pathway restoration but doesn't identify which specific enzymes or signaling branches are most therapeutically relevant… gap-debate-20260411-064937-f0f36214 | open | 0.750 | cell biology | 2026-04-11 | Open → |
| 17 | How does cholesterol gradient disruption differentially affect amyloidogenic vs… The concept of selective cholesterol modulation was discussed but mechanistic details of domain-specific targeting remain unclear. Understanding how to therapeu… gap-debate-20260410-112819-ea2b7c60 | open | 0.750 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 18 | Can cellular stress response pathways distinguish between protective and pathol… The debate raised the possibility that stress responses facilitate both beneficial and harmful protein transmission, but the molecular basis for this selectivit… gap-debate-20260410-105449-76bedc7b | open | 0.730 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 19 | How does SMS1-mediated sphingomyelin synthesis specifically regulate membrane t… While SMS1 catalyzes sphingomyelin synthesis from ceramide, the study doesn't explain how this lipid synthesis activity mechanistically controls protein traffic… gap-pubmed-20260410-193248-542f59db | open | 0.730 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 20 | How do endolysosomal membrane damage patterns influence protein aggregation spe… The debate identified membrane damage as a potential cross-seeding prerequisite but didn't resolve how damage topology affects which proteins aggregate together… gap-debate-20260412-094653-2596bebc | open | 0.710 | cell biology | 2026-04-12 | Open → |
| 21 | Do mitochondrial-lysosome contact site defects precede or follow autophagy dysf… The debate mentioned contact site engineering but did not establish the temporal relationship between contact site dysfunction and broader autophagy failure. Th… gap-debate-20260410-110247-a715bfe0 | open | 0.700 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 22 | Can lysosomal membrane stabilizers selectively prevent tau seeding without disr… While tau-induced lysosomal damage promotes seeding, the therapeutic hypothesis assumes membrane stabilization won't impair essential lysosomal dynamics. This s… gap-debate-20260410-112451-cfdde459 | open | 0.700 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |
| 23 | What are the downstream signaling pathways linking ARF6/exocyst to VE-cadherin… While ARF6 and exocyst complex are identified as VE-cadherin interactors involved in trafficking and recycling, the specific signaling cascades and regulatory m… gap-pubmed-20260410-105527-aefe8a05 | open | 0.560 | cell biology | 2026-04-10 | Open → |