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Tight spaces cause spreading cancer cells to divide improperly

Nanotubes mimic capillaries to study mitosis, metastasis

cancer nanotubes

SQUEEZE PLAY  When trapped inside tight tubes, cancer cells divide unevenly. But as their membranes bulge (shown with yellow arrows), the cell division gets a little less distorted.   

W. Xi et al/ACS Nano 2016

By Laurel Hamers

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