Oocytes: Going with the flow

Most cells rely on structural tethers to position chromosomes in preparation for cell division. Not so oocytes. Instead, a powerful intracellular stream pushes chromosomes far-off the center in preparation for the highly ...

Another step toward synthetic cells

Building functional synthetic cells from the bottom-up is an ongoing effort of scientists around the globe. Their use in studying cellular mechanisms in a highly controlled and pre-defined setting creates great value for ...

Fishing games gone wrong

When an egg cell is being formed, the cellular machinery which separates chromosomes is extremely imprecise at fishing them out of the cell's interior, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, ...

Record reaction cascade yields cancer drug candidate

(PhysOrg.com) -- New active substances can be produced quickly and efficiently with the help of reaction cascades. Once set in motion, these processes lead to the desired end product via a series of intermediate steps which ...

Gene movements observed in vivo

Certain parts of DNA are highly mobile and their dynamic motion participates in controlling gene expression. The research team working under Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla, an Inserm research director at the Institute of Genetics ...

Cellular aging: A basic paradox elucidated

In a study published in Nucleic Acids Research, the team of cancer researcher Francis Rodier, an Université de Montréal professor, shows for the first time that cellular senescence, which occurs when aging cells stop dividing, ...

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