Show Notes
This release contains only the music track from Base by Base Episode 408.
Song title: Fusion Switch (Tau Let Go)
Original Base by Base episode: 408: Tau, mitochondria, and the fusion switch
Article metadata:
Article title: Tau protein as a regulator of mitochondrial function and dynamics
Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2521642123
Reference: Tsakiria E., Campos-Marques C., Ferreira I.L., Trougakos I.P., Dioli C., Gianniou D.D., Silva J.M., Skourti K., Roussos A., Samiotaki M., Sotiropoulos I., Palikaras K., et al. Tau protein as a regulator of mitochondrial function and dynamics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2026; doi:10.1073/pnas.2521642123.
Lyrics:
Verse 1
Under bright screens in the midnight lab
I watch the power in the quiet cradles
Tiny engines learning how to grab
A steadier rhythm, tighter cables
Pre-Chorus
There’s a hand on the throttle we never named
A silent brake in the cell’s back room
Let it loosen and the map gets rearranged
Like sunrise pushing through the gloom
Chorus
When Tau lets go, the lights burn clean
Mitochondria fuse like a living stream
Breathing higher, voltage on the rise
But sparks of ROS in the corners of my eyes
Verse 2
No more snap-cuts, fewer splits at the seams
Drp1 fades to the background motion
Mitofusin pulls the threads of these dreams
Stitching fragments into one wide ocean
Bridge
And the cleanup crews start moving in time
Mitophagy humming, taking out the worst
Stronger in stress, still paying the dime
More fire inside means more to quench first
Final Chorus
When Tau lets go, the lights burn clean
Mitochondria fuse like a living stream
Breathing higher, voltage on the rise
But sparks of ROS in the corners of my eyes
So we ride that trade-off, bold and true
More power to live—more heat to see through
