The checkpoint brake relieved

摘要

When a cell divides, each daughter cell inherits a complete set of chromosomes. A sophisticated inhibitory mechanism delays chromosome segregation and cell division until everything is in its place. It is equally important for a cell to do things at the right times as it is for an organism. This is particularly true during the final phase of cell division — mitosis — when chromosomes segregate. Chromosome segregation must not be initiated too early, because otherwise the daughter cells will carry an abnormal number of chromosomes and, in rare cases, tumour cells or diseases such as Down's syndrome might develop.