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Image of the Day: Cellular Pulse

The protein RhoA coordinates pulses of movement in Caenorhabditis elegans cells.

Written byShawna Williams
| 1 min read

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In a paper published October 1 in the Journal of Cell Biology, researchers led by Edwin Munro of the University of Chicago report that a protein known as RhoA is key to a process known as pulse contractility in C. elegans, which enables tissues to shape-shift during development.

J.B. Michaux et al., “Excitable RhoA dynamics drive pulsed contractions in the early C. elegans embryo,” J Cell Biol, doi:10.1083/jcb.201806161, 2018.

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Meet the Author

  • Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.

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