Mitosis
Cell duplication
What looks like a pair of scary alien eyes is actually the final stage in the duplication of a cell. Cell duplication is preceded by a process called mitosis, in which the replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei. Mitosis is the prerequisite for a cell to divide into two identical…
First interactive model of human cell division
Real-time tracking of proteins during mitosis is now possible using a 4D computer model…
Parental chromosomes kept apart during first division
Mammalian life begins differently than we thought…
Protein stability and solubility during cell cycle
EMBL scientists uncover large solubility and thermal stability changes of proteins during the cell cycle…
Stop and go
A traffic policeman standing at a busy intersection directing the flow of vehicles may be a rare sight these days, but a similar scene appears to still frequently play out in our cells. A protein called Lem4 directs a crucial step of cell division by preventing the progress of one molecule while…
Movies for the human genome
Name a human gene, and you’ll find a movie online showing you what happens to cells when it is switched off. This is the resource that researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and their collaborators in the Mitocheck consortium are making freely…
Researchers shed light on shrinking of chromosomes
A human cell contains an enormous 1.8 metres of DNA partitioned into 46 chromosomes. These have to be copied and distributed equally into two daughter cells at every division. Condensation, the shortening of chromosomes, allows the cell to handle such huge amounts of genetic material during cell…
