For successful cell division, chromosomal DNA needs to be packed into compact rod-shaped structures. Defects in this process can lead to cell death or diseases like cancer. A new study has shown how ...

New findings shed light on how chromosomes manage the various pushing and pulling forces generated when cells divide. Specifically, researchers show that chromosomes resist being punctured by the ...

Cell division is one of the most fundamental and complex processes underpinning life. In human cells, thousands of molecules ...

DNA does not float freely in the cell. Instead, it is wrapped around histone proteins to form structures called nucleosomes.

For a living cell to divide successfully, each daughter cell must inherit the correct genetic material. In eukaryotes, segregation of duplicated chromosomes is performed by the mitotic spindle, a ...

Scientists have discovered an amazingly simple way that cells stabilize their machinery for forcing apart chromosomes. Their findings are reported Nov. 25 in Nature. When a cell gets ready to split ...

Cell biologists have found a key clue in the mystery of how chromosomes are inherited correctly every time a cell divides. Using a novel cell probe, they unraveled how a 'matchmaker' molecule stops ...

Microtubules, the dynamic filaments that form the cell's internal scaffolding, have long been viewed as mere passive structural supports. But a new study reveals they play a far more active signaling ...

For sexual reproduction to yield healthy offspring, newly generated oocytes-immature egg cells-must receive the correct amount of DNA after cell division. This process of segregating chromosomes ...

The authors set out to answer a simple question. Do all chromosomes have the same chance of being mis-segregated during cell division? To address this, Klaasen and colleagues turned to several types ...

This lithograph illustrates the high quality of the visualization techniques used in 1901 for documenting the cellular structures involved in cell division. The figure shows chromosomes in the middle ...

As the cell proceeds through the stages of cell division (from left to right: interphase, prometaphase, metaphase, and anaphase), chromosomes become progressively more compact through a combination of ...