Scientists have discovered a new property of the molecular motors that shape our chromosomes. While six years ago they found that these so-called SMC motor proteins make long loops in our DNA, they ...

Holocentric chromosomes have evolved independently from X-shaped monocentric chromosomes multiple times in both animals and plants, but the mechanism behind the centromere-type transition is unknown.

Researchers at Rice University are making strides in understanding how chromosome structures change throughout the cell's life cycle. Their study on motorized processes that actively influence the ...

During sexual reproduction, haploid gametes (i.e. eggs and sperm) are generated from diploid precursors through the specialized cell division of meiosis. Meiosis reduces ploidy by following one round ...

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 ...

Centromeres act as the control centers of chromosomes, ensuring accurate genetic inheritance during cell division, yet they ...

The human genetic blueprint is deceptively simple. Our genes are tightly wound into 46 X-shaped structures called chromosomes. Crafted by evolution, they carry DNA and replicate when cells divide, ...

The centromere is necessary for the transport of chromosomes during cell division and, therefore, for the correct transmission of genetic information. Most plants and animals have chromosomes with a ...

Chromosomal rearrangements, such as chromosome segment inversions, may affect the epigenetic landscape as well as gene expression. Different kinds of chromosome segment inversions have been found in ...