Citric acid cycle a ‘garbage compactor’ as well as an energy powerhouse

Generations of biochemistry students learned that the role of the Kreb’s cycle or tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is two-fold: to generate energy for cells and to create the building blocks for growth. But researchers are finding that metabolic pathways – even canonical ones like the TCA cycle – can actually be configured in a variety of ways, and they have many more jobs than previously imagined. Now, researchers have discovered that the TCA cycle has yet another underappreciated role: getting rid of waste.