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Actin filaments are dynamic protein-fibers in the cell built from single actin proteins. Many cellular functions, including cell movement, are regulated by constant filament assembly and disassembly. The disassembly phase is initiated by the release of a phosphate group from inside the filament, but the details of this process have puzzled scientists since decades. Researchers have now precisely identify a region in actin that functions as a ‘molecular backdoor’ for phosphate to exit though. Using a wide variety of techniques, including cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and molecular dynamics simulations, the scientists determined the mechanism of phosphate release from actin filaments in unprecedented molecular detail.