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 ...

Using computer simulations, chemists have discovered how nuclear bodies called nucleoli interact with chromosomes in the nucleus, and how those interactions help the nucleoli exist as stable droplets ...

Researchers have made a significant advancement toward understanding how the human genome is organized inside a single cell. This knowledge is crucial for analyzing how DNA structure influences gene ...

Despite being densely packed to fit into the nucleus, chromosomes storing our genetic information are always in motion. This allows specific regions to come into contact and thereby activate a gene. A ...

A cell stores all of its genetic material in its nucleus, in the form of chromosomes, but that's not all that's tucked away in there. The nucleus is also home to small bodies called nucleoli - ...

Our genome is huge. It's made up of about 3 billion base pairs, and if the whole molecule was stretched to its full length, it would extend for about two meters (over six feet) So it's fairly ...

In human cells, DNA carries chemical or "epigenetic" marks that decide how genes will be used in different tissues. Yet in a ...

Almost like a moon in a planet, the exclusome (yellow- green dot) lies in the cytoplasm near the nucleus (blue). Even the remarkably familiar can sometimes yield new discoveries: researchers at ETH ...

In the choreography of meiosis—the process responsible for sex cell division in all eukaryotic life—the pairing of homologous chromosomes (homologs) is essential. Errors in this process can lead to an ...

Whether at the start of a sinus infection or a fresh open wound, neutrophils are the first line of defense in an immune attack. 1 In order to rush to the scene to kill infectious microbes, they have a ...

Many species undergo programmed DNA elimination, a process where specific parts of the genome found in the original sperm and egg cells are removed from the cells of the developing body. Different ...