During cell division, the mitotic spindle assembles itself from its constituent parts. Spindle microtubule minus ends are focused into two poles, and these poles dictate where duplicated chromatids are transported at anaphase. Forces that focus microtubules into poles are crucial to spindle organization and function. Cytoplasmic dynein, a minus end–directed microtubule motor, clusters parallel ...

We study the properties of the poles of the resummed graviton propagator obtained by resumming bubble matter diagrams which correct the classical graviton propagator. These poles have been previously interpreted as black holes precursors. Here, we show using the horizon wavefunction formalism that these poles indeed have properties which make them compatible with being black hole precursors. In...

The Ras pathway patterns the poles of the Drosophila embryo by downregulating the levels and activity of a DNA-binding transcriptional repressor Capicua (Cic). We demonstrate that the spatiotemporal pattern of Cic during this signaling event can be harnessed for functional studies of mutations in the Ras pathway in human diseases. Our approach relies on a new microfluidic device that enables pa...

The mechanisms that safeguard cells against chromosomal instability (CIN) are of great interest, as CIN contributes to tumorigenesis. To gain insight into these mechanisms, we studied the behavior of cells entering mitosis with damaged chromosomes. We used the endonuclease I-CreI to generate acentric chromosomes in Drosophila larvae. While I-CreI expression produces acentric chromosomes in the ...

Error-free chromosome segregation requires stable attachment of sister kinetochores to the opposite spindle poles (amphitelic attachment). Exactly how amphitelic attachments are achieved during spindle assembly remains elusive. We employed photoactivatable GFP and high-resolution live-cell confocal microscopy to visualize complete 3D movements of individual kinetochores throughout mitosis in no...

The reproduction of spindle poles is a key event in the cell's preparation for mitosis. To gain further insight into how this process is controlled, we systematically characterized the ultrastructure of spindle poles whose reproductive capacity had been experimentally altered. In particular, we wanted to determine if the ability of a pole to reproduce before the next division is related to the ...