Microtubule asters are essential in localizing the action of microtubules in processes including mitosis and organelle positioning. In large cells, such as the one-cell sea urchin embryo, aster dynamics are dominated by hydrodynamic pulling forces. How…
A new platform that can follow the movement of individual proteins inside millions of cells in a single day will help contribute to existing knowledge of cell biology and identify new therapeutics.
The nucleus is highly organized to facilitate coordinated gene transcription. Measuring the rheological properties of the nucleus and its sub-compartments will be crucial to understand the principles underlying nuclear organization. Here, we show that …
During mitosis, kinetochore-attached microtubules form bundles (k-fibers) in which many filaments grow and shorten in near-perfect unison to align and segregate each chromosome. However, individual microtubules grow at intrinsically variable rates, whi…
As cells migrate and experience forces from their surroundings, they constantly undergo mechanical deformations which reshape their plasma membrane (PM). To maintain homeostasis, cells need to detect and restore such changes, not only in terms of overa…
Cell-generated forces play a major role in coordinating the large-scale behavior of cell assemblies, in particular during development, wound healing and cancer. Mechanical signals propagate faster than biochemical signals, but can have similar effects,…
At each cell division, nanometer-scale components self-organize to build a micron-scale spindle. In mammalian spindles, microtubule bundles called kinetochore-fibers attach to chromosomes and focus into spindle poles. Despite evidence suggesting that p…
As a cell changes size during the cell cycle, why does its density remain constant?
Cellular growth is the result of passive physical constraints and active biological processes. Their interplay leads to the appearance of robust and ubiquitous scaling laws relating linearly cell size, dry mass, and nuclear size. Despite accumulating e…
A chemical regularly used to image cells can dramatically alter the way cellular compartments called condensates look under the microscope.