Cosy Science

All living things are made of cells: complex nanomachines with the remarkable capacity to make copies of themselves. Cell reproduction occurs by a series of steps called the cell cycle, beginning with duplication of the chromosomes and ending with the beautiful process of mitosis, when the duplicated chromosomes are distributed into a pair of daughter cells. These cell cycle events are governed by a complex regulatory circuit based on enzymes that act as molecular timers, triggering each event of the cycle at the correct time and in the correct order. David will describe how recent advancements in fluorescent protein technology and light microscopy have allowed us to develop so-called ‘biosensor’ molecules that can be used to measure cell cycle enzyme activities in the intact cell with unprecedented accuracy.