Spindle elongation segregates chromosomes and occurs in anaphase, an essential step in mitosis. Dynein-mediated pulling forces position the spindle, but their role in anaphase is a matter of debate. Here, we demonstrate that dynein is responsible for rapid spindle elongation in the model fungus Ustilago maydis. We show that initial slow elongation is supported by kinesin-5, which is located in ...

Femtosecond laser nanosurgery has been widely accepted as an axonal injury model, enabling nerve regeneration studies in the small model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. To overcome the time limitations of manual worm handling techniques, automation and new immobilization technologies must be adopted to improve throughput in these studies. While new microfluidic immobilization techniques have ...

Tissue morphogenesis requires stereotyped cell shape changes, such as apical cell constriction in the mesoderm and cell intercalation in the ventrolateral ectoderm of Drosophila. Both processes require force generation by an actomyosin network. The subcellular localization of Myosin-II (Myo-II) dictates these different morphogenetic processes. In the intercalating ectoderm Myo-II is mostly cort...

A challenge in the development of nanometer-scale devices, which are envisioned to impact human life in the near future, is the development of economical techniques for the fabrication of their building blocks. Owing to their unique and exquisite characteristics, nanowires are ideal building blocks for functional nanometer-scale electronics, photonic structures, and nanosurgery devices. Here, w...

Serial time-encoded amplified microscopy (STEAM) is an entirely new imaging modality that enables ultrafast continuous real-time imaging with high sensitivity. By means of optical image amplification, STEAM overcomes the fundamental tradeoff between sensitivity and speed that affects virtually all optical imaging systems. Unlike the conventional microscope systems, the performance of STEAM depe...

Technological innovation and evolution of knowledge have always conditioned surgery both in technique and in the indications: it has resulted in a general greater well-being for patients. What will be the role of surgery in the future is currently under discussion. Here we show that SNPs genotyping leads the path towards personalized medical therapies. In the future it is therefore conceivable ...