This news item is about: An ancient union between cell and organelle has shown the first sign of fracture, challenging common conceptions of a primordial partnership all multicellular organisms rely on to live. Cornell researchers have recorded the first direct evidence of cells expelling intact mitochondria, the machinery responsible for energy production. Malfunctioning mitochondria produce free-radicals that damage cells, contributing to aging, mitochondrial myopathies, and disorders ranging from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and dementia to Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. The newfound breakup behavior, described in Mitochondrion 2011 Nov.11(6), may be an early cell-survival strategy to escape the toxic effects of damaged mitochondria.