Congress Shutdown

When cells prepare to divide, each 'daughter' cell must receive a copy of the blueprints for cellular life – the DNA which allows new cells to develop in the same way. While the job of cleaving a cell in half is challenging enough, here researchers focus on the delicate mechanisms that separate and share out lengths of DNA called chromosomes. During metaphase, structures called kinetochores in the middle of the chromosomes (highlighted in rainbow colours) usually line up in the centre of the cell, pulled there along microtubules (wispy grey lines here) in a process called congression. Removing CENP-E, a protein essential for attaching kinetochores to the ends of microtubules, leaves some chromosomes stranded at the outer 'poles' of the cell (left). Restoring the protein allows more of the chromosomes to begin moving again (right), suggesting a mechanism that might be exploited to disrupt dividing cancer cells.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

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A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Kruno Vukušić & Iva M. Tolić
• Division of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, October 2025