Tile artworks

The rise of new life by Bettina Mihalas

The process of fertilisation, depicted as a sunrise.

The sun symbolises an ovulated human egg and the rays are sperm racing towards it. The artwork captures the urgency of conception while celebrating the beauty and wonder of a potential new life

Crafting the metaphase plate by Nigel Burroughs

Chromosomes captured by microtubules.

This represents paired chromosomes (chromosome arms in cream) and the mechanical spindle with its two poles (orange) that send out fibres (red) to capture the chromosomes and repositions them in the cell. My work focuses on the mechanics of chromosome movement and changes in their internal architecture (green and black dots) under the forces from the spindle. I also work on human reproduction, hence the suggestion of insects and flowers.

To err (in mitosis) is human by Dr Emma Ford 

A zygote during first mitotic division.

We have recently discovered that the first division of human embryos is highly error prone. During the first mitosis, chromosomes are much more likely to be segregated to wrong cells than in later cell divisions. 

Here we see the chromosomes (colourful rods) are aligned in a metaphase plate. However, one of the chromosomes (top right, in red) is unaligned, meaning that it is not connected correctly to the spindle fibres and will likely end up mis-segregated.

The tale of oocyte development by Cerys Curie 

A zoom into an immature egg cell. 

The oocyte (or an egg cell) is unique. With approximately 0.13mm in diameter, it is the largest cell in the body. Being formed in utero, they complete the first part of female gamete development before birth and stay dormant ever since. 

In the IVF world, this is referred to as a germinal vesicle egg, or a GV. This is because of a prominent nucleus (brown circle), which at this stage is known as a germinal vesicle. It contains the whole genetic material of the cell (DNA is represented by blue and green lines). After the onset of puberty, several oocytes will be recruited every month and continue their development. However, the chromosome segregation processes will not be complete until after fertilisation.

The mitotic spindle’s dance by Jonathon Harrison 

Mature mitotic spindle ready to segregate chromosomes

Individual chromosomes are usually spread out throughout the cell nucleus but at a stage called metaphase, they line up ready to be split. 

Here we see the purple chromosomes and the green microtubules ready to pull them apart. 

Sibling rivalry by Constandina Koki 

Sister chromatics separating in anaphase.

Here we see sister chromatids (the brown squiggly lines) being pulled apart during a cell division stage called anaphase. 

Two of these sister chromatids, identical in information, make up the familiar X shape of a chromosome. 

The canvas of life by Lucy Munro 

Chromosome spread from a mouse oocyte.

The kinetochore is a disc-shaped protein structure (the green and red spots) where spindle fibres (blue) attach during the cell division process. These spindles pull apart the two sister chromatids of the chromosome, leaving two identical sets of information.

A leap through life by Gerard Pieper 

Three stages in the development of the frog: the egg, fertilisation, and the full frog

I study frog eggs to get to know more about the meiotic divisions, the specialised divisions that result in gametes: oocytes (egg) and sperm. 

It takes two by Adele Marston 

A section of a human egg arrested at metaphase II and awaiting fertilisation by an army of sperm.

One set of chromosomes (blue in transparent blob) has been discarded in the polar body and upon fertilisation, a second set of chromosomes will be discarded in a second polar body. 

Genetic Mosaic: gene transfer through generations by Muriel Erent

Meiosis II: cell division leading to gamete formation.

Meiosis 2 is when the gametes, sperm or egg, form. Centromeres (see here as circles) divide, and each chromatid (4 shown here) moves to the opposite side of the cell. This allow every gamete (male or female) to be different and contain information from both parents. Later, during fertilisation, the gamete will fuse with another to create a unique individual.

Bivalents intertwined by Andrew McAinsh

Meiosis II: capture and segregation of bivalents.

A bivalent is a pair of homologous chromosomes - one that originally came from the father, and one that came from the mother. During meiosis 1 these chromosomes are pulled away from each other, with only one making it into the future egg. They are able to move because they are connected via kinetochores (the blue and white blobs) to dynamic polymers that can grow and shrink. These are called microtubules (shown here is the brown wires).

Our work is trying to understand how the egg makes sure they both attach to the same side - otherwise errors can be made leading to developmental syndromes (like Downs Syndrome) and even pregnancy loss.

Breaking free by Geraldine Hartshorne 

Human embryo at the blastocyst stage (around day 5 of development) hatching from its shell (the zona pellucida)

The hatching cells (blue) make contact with the underlying cells of the endometrium (womb lining) at implantation. The embryo is attaching at a gap in the endometrial cells, and the orange signifies molecular signals passing between the endometrium and the embryo as they communicate in preparation for implantation.