Randy Schekman, at the University of California, Berkeley, identifies from the mid-1970s onward, through the study of yeast with genetic defects in cellular transport, the genes responsible for organizing the vesicle system that transports molecules between the different internal compartments of the cell. James Rothman, at Yale University, discovers during the 1980s and 1990s the specific protein machinery — SNARE protein complexes — that allows these vesicles to recognize and fuse exactly with the correct destination cellular compartment, like a molecular lock-and-key system that ensures each vesicle's contents are delivered to the precise location within the cell. Thomas Südhof, at Stanford University, applies this knowledge specifically to the nervous system, discovering how neurons regulate, with millisecond precision, the release of neurotransmitters at synapses through calcium-control mechanisms that trigger the fusion of synaptic vesicles in response to a nerve impulse. Together, these discoveries solve a fundamental logistical problem of every eukaryotic cell: how to precisely transport thousands of distinct molecules between internal compartments — nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, outer membrane — without them mixing up or being delivered to the wrong place, and are fundamental to understanding neurological diseases, diabetes, and immune disorders related to failures in this transport system.