Leeba Ann Chacko

Mitochondrial fission: a solo mission for Dnm1 (Drp1 in humans) or does it need an inside accomplice? A new preprint by Connor et al. uncovers a novel mitochondrial intermembrane protein that's crucial for Dnm1-mediated fission!

Background:
Unlike many of their mammalian counterparts, fission yeasts are unicellular eukaryotes that undergo ‘closed mitosis’, where the nuclear envelope does not undergo breakdown during cell division. Instead, at the onset of mitosis, cytoplasmic microtubules are reorganized to form the mitotic spindle within the closed nucleus1. This spindle elongates inside the nucleus causing it to expand and in the process, the DNA from the mother cell is equally distributed into identical daughter c...

The fission yeast is a rod-shaped unicellular eukaryote that divides symmetrically to produce two similar-sized daughter cells. The cells initially grow in a unidirectional manner through polarized tip extension until a length of about 9.0-9.5 microns, then they begin to grow in a bi-directional manner until a length of ~14 μm after which they divide.

INTRODUCTION
Mitochondria, also known as the ‘powerhouse of the cell’, are cellular machines that provide our bodies with the energy we require to perform various activities ranging from going on adventurous hikes to typing articles about mitochondrial inheritance. Apart from their ability to produce the fuel we need to perform everyday tasks, they also house their own unique DNA.

Many of us remember from our early years of learning biology that mitochondria are the ‘power house of the cell’ which sounds like the kind of job that is crucial to the survival of a cell. What does being the powerhouse of the cell really mean though? In a simplistic sense, one can imagine the mitochondria as an engine for the machine that is the cell, which is working all day to generate energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from last night’s delicious sandwich.

As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, India has increased its public spending significantly in the last decade, but on the flip side of this happy growth story is a steep environmental cost. In 2017, the Central Pollution Control Board announced that India generates around 26,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste per day; this amounts to 1.6 million tonnes of plastic waste in a year, 40% of which remains uncollected.

This unrecycled waste causes immense harm to the environment an...

As India moves through the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and puts containment procedures in place, the need for rapid and widespread testing is becoming more and more critical every day. In such a scenario, it is crucial for the public and private healthcare sectors to combine their forces and coordinate their actions. In this article, Joel and Leeba examine the need for, and efforts made towards building such partnerships in India.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Head, World Health Organ...

Background:
Mitochondria are dynamic tubular organelles that constantly undergo fission and fusion events inside the cell. These dynamics are regulated by specific proteins. For instance, fusion of the mitochondrial outer membrane (OMM) is regulated by mitofusin 1 and mitofusin 2 (MFN1 and MFN2) while fission is mediated by the dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1). Likewise, fusion of the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) is brought about by the dynamin-like GTPase optic atrophy 1 (OPA1)1. Inter...

Cytokinesis is the process by which a parent cell divides into two or more daughter cells. Cytokinesis can occur either through mitosis or meiosis – both of which are fundamental processes for life. The steps involved in cytokinesis are carefully controlled by higher order actomyosin structures at the cell cortex. Together these structures generate forces that enable the constriction of the contractile actomyosin ring (CAR) and ultimately induce division.

Several friends of mine who connected with me on Facebook asked me why I’m not on it anymore. Furthermore, some of them even inquired if I had blocked them. Let me go right ahead and say, I did not block anybody. All I did was permanently delete my account which is why they were unable to find me. Now that that’s out of the way, let me explain why I decided to remove myself from social media altogether.