Chromosomes Dance and Pair Up on the Nuclear Membrane

http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=7549

• New findings by University of California, Berkeley, scientists show that the cell's cytoskeleton, which moves things around in the cell, plays a critical role, essentially reaching into the nucleus to bring chromosome pairs together in preparation for recombination and segregation.
• he cytoskeleton appears to encourage the dance of the chromosomes around the nuclear membrane as they search for their partners, and help make sure they have the right partner before meiosis continues.
• Errors during meiosis lead to age-related human infertility, and to birth defects such as Down syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome," said Abby Dernburg, UC Berkeley associate professor of molecular and cell biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "Our work teaches us about the fundamental mechanisms of genome organization, about how cells execute processes in precise ways, monitor their own mistakes and correct or eliminate them."

Reflection

When I read this article, I found out that scientists in UC Berkeley made a scientific discovery in chromosomes. It made me happy because by dad graduated UC Berkeley with a degree in BioChem. It is a bit exciting for me because he was in the same lab as the scientists who made this discovery.

"Chromosomes Dance and Pair up on the Nuclear Membrane." Insciences.org. 12 Nov. 09. Web. 13 May 10. .