This spectacular image was taken by Indiana University research associate Jane Stout and depicts a scene from mitosis where chromosomes (highlighted in blue) are pulled apart by hook-like kinetochores (shown in green) and spindle fibers (marked in red). The photo took first place in the microscopy category of the most recent GE Healthcare Life Sciences Cell Imaging Competition and was featured on an electronic billboard in Times Square last month.
Stout explained in an Indiana University news story the significance of the photo:
This particular high-resolution image allowed us to see individual strands within bundles of specialized structures that form the spindle, whereas before we could only infer the bundled structure from other types of imaging and assays... In future images, we hope to see where the different members of the protein family act on the spindle to learn how their movements are coordinated to regulate the entire process of DNA segregation.
Photo by Indiana University
