“…researchers are helping to write the operating manual for the nano-scale machine that separates chromosomes before cell division. The apparatus is called a spindle because it looks like a tiny wool-spinner with thin strands of microtubules or spindle fibers sticking out. The lengthening and shortening of microtubules is thought to help push and pull apart chromosome pairs.

Understanding how this machine accurately and evenly divides genetic material is essential to learning why its parts sometimes fail. Certain cancers or birth defects, like Down syndrome or Trisomy 18, result from an uneven distribution of chromosomes….” Full Slice

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