
Scientists reconstruct assembly of the human centriole, image by image, for the first time
Cells contain various specialized structures—such as the nucleus, mitochondria or peroxisomes—known as "organelles." Tracing their genesis and determining their structure is fundamental to understanding cell function and the pathologies linked to their dysfunction.
These are human centrioles, the interesting thing about them is they self-assemble.
During cell division they organize themselves orthogonally to create the "aster" where the DNA aligns itself.
Most of the time though, they form the cytoskeleton, which is the structural piece that maintains the shape of the cell. The same proteins in centrioles form the microtubules responsible for transporting things from one part of a cell to another.