Friday Feature: Pulsating Cells

Something different, since it’s Friday: a movie!  This shows MCF7 cells responding to DNA damage by activating the p53 pathway.  As Lahav et al. showed some years ago (Dynamics of the p53-Mdm2 feedback loop in individual cells. Lahav G, Rosenfeld N, Sigal A, Geva-Zatorsky N, Levine AJ, Elowitz MB, Alon U. Nat Genet. 2004 36 147-50), p53 (green) and MDM2 (red) show repeated, stereotyped pulses in response to gamma irradiation. This has interesting implications for the control mechanisms that drive the pulses, explored further in Batchelor et al. 2008.

Mesmerizing, isn’t it? 

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