title: Cell division: breaking up is easy to do.
abstract: How did cells divide before protein machines evolved? A new study shows that bacteria can reproduce without the division machinery, supporting the idea that primordial cells could have divided using physical mechanisms alone.
authors.affiliation: FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, Northwest Labs 445.50, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. ichen@post.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Irene A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005075:Biological Evolution; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins