In the fictional Star Wars universe, the Jedi have in their cells microscopic organisms, called midichlorians, which enable them to communicate with “the Force." Us humans are stuck with just plain mitochondria. Although not as flashy, these ancient organelles perform essential metabolic functions. This week, Chadrasekaran et al. designed a system to explore their role in forebrain neurons. To specifically label neuronal mitochondria, the authors crossed mice expressing a mitochondrial-targeted, enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (eYFP) under control of a tetracycline-responsive element, with mice expressing the tetracycline-controlled transactivator protein driven by a forebrain (neuron)-specific promoter. In these mice, eYFP turned on in neuronal mitochondria when the animals received a doxycycline-free diet. With this model system, the authors will be able to ask all kinds of interesting questions, and in the best spirit of The Journal of Neuroscience, these mice will be made available to the community. May the force be with them! Krish Chandrasekaran, Julie Hazelton, Yu Wang, Gary Fiskum, and Tibor Kristian ### News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience Contact: Sara Harris Society for Neuroscience