One of the challenges of working with ancient DNA samples is that damage accumulates over time, breaking up the structure of the double helix into ever smaller fragments. In the samples we’ve worked ...

Scientists have uncovered how brewer’s yeast developed its unusually tiny centromeres, the DNA regions that guide chromosome separation during cell division. By studying related yeast species, ...

Researchers at Rice University are making strides in understanding how chromosome structures change throughout the cell's life cycle. Their study on motorized processes that actively influence the ...

New research reveals that ancient interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals shaped our modern human DNA - especially on the X chromosome.

Chromosomes are thread-like structures located inside the nucleus of animal and plant cells. Each chromosome is made of protein and a single molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Passed from ...

Researchers are making strides in understanding how chromosome structures change throughout the cell's life cycle. Researchers at Rice University are making strides in understanding how chromosome ...

Among the many marvels of life is the cell's ability to divide and thus enable organisms to grow and renew themselves. For this, the cell must duplicate its DNA—its genome—and segregate it equally ...

As the cell proceeds through the stages of cell division (from left to right: interphase, prometaphase, metaphase, and anaphase), chromosomes become progressively more compact through a combination of ...

Chromosomes are masters of organization. These long strings of DNA fold down into an ensemble of compact structures that keep needed parts of the genome accessible while tucking away those that aren’t ...