Among the many marvels of life is the cell's ability to divide and thus enable organisms to grow and renew themselves. For this, the cell must duplicate its DNA—its genome—and segregate it equally ...

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 ...

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 ...

Accurate chromosome segregation and cell division are central to maintaining genomic integrity and ensuring proper development and tissue homeostasis. These processes rely on a complex network of ...

Centromeres play virtually the same central role across the entire tree of life: They ensure the faithful segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Yet the striking diversity in centromere ...

Some cells can turn cancerous when they divide, due to chromosomes getting “lost” in the process. In a new study, researchers at the University of Warwick have uncovered what happens to these lost ...

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 ...

Chromosomes are thread-like structures located inside the nucleus of animal and plant cells. Each chromosome is made of protein and a single molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Passed from ...

During cell division, chromosomes are duplicated and separated so that one copy of each chromosome is inherited by each of the two emerging daughter cells. Correct distribution of chromosomes requires ...

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 ...