Lock the Metals Away

This release contains only the music track from Base by Base Episode 407. Song title: Lock the Metals AwayOriginal Base by Base episode: 407: SLC11A2 withholds metals from Salmonella in the gut epithelium Article metadata:Article title: SLC11A2 withholds divalent metals fromSalmonellain the gut epitheliumJournal: Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesDOI: 10.1073/pnas.2532675123Reference: Norberg ES, Knodler LA, et al. SLC11A2 withholds divalent metals from Salmonella in the gut epithelium. PNAS. 2026;123:e2532675123. doi:10.1073/pnas.2532675123 Lyrics:Verse 1In the gut where the neon microscopes glow,A shadow slips in where the warm cells grow.It thinks it can settle, it thinks it can stay,But the pantry is closing—no feast today. Pre-ChorusYou can hide in a bubble, build walls in the dark,But we hear your hunger like a tiny spark.We cut the supply lines, quiet and sure,Starve out the storm with a natural cure. ChorusLock the metals away, let the invader wait,Iron and manganese—seal that gate.In the vacuole night, watch the numbers fall,No fuel for the fire when we withhold it all.Lock the metals away, no easy win,You can’t grow in a house you can’t eat within. Verse 2Some cells see the signal—low down to the bone,Less than a whisper of iron to own.A transporter pulls up like a guard on call,Turns the lights down low inside the wall. BridgeTry to steal it back with a desperate plan,MntH on the run, siderophores in hand.But every bright grab meets a colder defense,We tighten the silence with patient suspense. Final ChorusLock the metals away, let the invader wait,Iron and manganese—seal that gate.In the vacuole night, watch the numbers fall,No fuel for the fire when we withhold it all.Lock the metals away, feel the pressure shift,A hidden kind of power, a cellular gift.