New Technique Sheds Light on the Mysterious Process of Cell Division (2 of 2) (IMAGE)
Caption
A new technique that constructs models of primitive cells has demonstrated that the structure of a cell's membrane and cytoplasm may be as important to cell division as a cell's enzymes, DNA, or RNA. The study, which will be published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, may provide important clues to how life originated from non-life and how modern cells came to exhibit complex behaviors. This image shows the second-generation division in the model-cell. The initial division was followed by budding of one of the daughter cells. The small bud contains a newly-formed dextran-rich aqueous phase coated by the red membrane domain, while the larger body of the model cell contains the PEG-rich aqueous phase coated by the green membrane domain.
Credit
Christine Keating lab, Penn State University
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