Centrosomes serve as anchors for spindles, “complex structures of filament-like tubules” that connect each centrosome with the centromere. The spindles are responsible for separating chromosomes and equally dividing them into two sets for daughter cells. During cell division, it is important cells duplicate their centrosome only once so that there are two total centrosomes. Extra copies mess up the anchoring of spindles and, as result, create an uneven distribution of chromosomes. Such occurances have lead to cancer and other disorders. Dr. Stillman has found a way to control the duplication of centrosomes so that no more than one copy is created. Orc1 is a protein responsible for preparing a cell for duplication. Stillman discovered that cells induced to generate more Orc1 only duplicate centrosomes once per cell division cycle. This eliminates errors in uneven distribution of chromosomes.
Source: http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/42966/CSHL_scientists_discover_link_between_control_of_chromosome_duplication_and_segregation.html
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