Enzyme long studied for energy production has hidden role in cell division

For more than seventy years, the enzyme phosphofructokinase was understood as a faithful servant of cellular energy metabolism — a fixed landmark in the biochemistry of life. Researchers at the University of Surrey have now discovered that one of its subunits, Pfk2, quietly performs a second role: binding and unwinding RNA to govern when cells divide. The finding reframes a familiar molecule as a molecular diplomat between energy and growth, and invites the humbling question of how many other long-studied proteins carry secrets we have not yet thought to ask about.