Researchers shed light on shrinking of chromosomes  June 11th,
2007 in Medicine & Health / Genetics  A human cell contains an
enormous 1.8 metres of DNA partitioned into 46 chromosomes.
These have to be copied and distributed equally into two
daughter cells at every division. Condensation, the shortening
of chromosomes, allows the cell to handle such huge amounts of
genetic material during cell division and helps preventing fatal
defects in chromosome separation. Now researchers from the
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) for the first time
tracked chromosome condensation in mammalian cells over the
entire course of cell division. In this week’s advanced online
publication of Nature Cell Biology they report crucial new
insights into timing, function and molecular basis of chromosome
condensation.  What happens when chromosomes are not correctly
separated and distributed during cell division we know very
well; two daughter cells with either broken chromosomes or
different numbers of chromosomes resul