Active forces shape the metaphase spindle through a mechanical instability [Biophysics and Computational Biology]

The metaphase spindle is a dynamic structure orchestrating chromosome segregation during cell division. Recently, soft matter approaches have shown that the spindle behaves as an active liquid crystal. Still, it remains unclear how active force generation contributes to its characteristic spindle-like shape. Here we combine theory and experiments to show...

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - July 13, 2020 Category: Science Authors: David Oriola, Frank Julicher, Jan Brugues Tags: Physical Sciences Source Type: research