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 ...

(Nanowerk News) If measured from beginning to end, the DNA in our cells is too long to fit into the cell’s nucleus, explaining why it must be constantly folded and packaged. When it is time for cell ...

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 ...

Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) reveal that metabolic enzymes known for their roles in energy production and nucleotide synthesis are taking on unexpected "second jobs" within ...

Scientists have uncovered a surprising new way that giant embryonic cells divide—without relying on the classic “purse-string” ring long thought essential for splitting a cell in two. Studying ...

Scientists have recently been learning more about the importance of small bits of circular genetic material known as extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA). These little circles of DNA can hitch a ride with ...

For almost 60 years, scientists have tried to understand why DNA doesn't replicate wildly and uncontrollably every time a cell divides, which happens constantly. Without this process, we would die.

Cells were long believed to safeguard nuclear contents, releasing them only during cell death. Extracellular DNA was thought ...

A time-delay circuit enables precise control over the division of synthetic DNA droplets, which mimic biological Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS) droplets found in cells. By utilizing a ...

High-resolution imaging shows how MraZ breaks and deforms to attach to repeated DNA sequences, activating the gene cluster ...