Reverse Engineering the Fireworks of Life (VIDEO) Princeton University This video is under embargo. Please login to access this video. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Caption This time-lapse video shows the growth and branching of microtubules, dubbed the 'fireworks of life' because these microscopic structures make up the skeleton of the cell. Graduate student Akanksha Thawani and three professors -- biologist Sabine Petry, engineer Howard Stone, and biophysicist Joshua Shaevitz - succeeded in reverse-engineering the recipe for building these fireworks. Elapsed time is shown in seconds and the white scale bar shows 10 μm. (For reference, a human hair is 50 to 100 μm across.) Credit Akanksha Thawani, Princeton University Usage Restrictions Editorial use only License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.