Sabine Petry and Akanksha Thawani (IMAGE) Princeton University Caption Graduate student Akanksha Thawani (left) discusses her research with molecular biologist Sabine Petry. Thawani, Petry and their colleagues at Princeton succeeded in reverse-engineering the recipe for building the 'fireworks of life,' the branching microtubules that make up cell walls and the spindles for mitosis and meiosis. Credit Sameer Khan/Fotobuddy 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.