For two decades, biology textbooks described the protein CENP‑E as a molecular motor, dragging chromosomes into place during cell division. New research from the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Croatia has rewritten that story, showing that CENP‑E does not pull chromosomes at all. Instead, it stabilizes their initial connections to the cell’s internal tracks, ensuring proper alignment before separation begins.
This discovery carries profound implications. In cancer biology, misaligned chromosomes are a hallmark of disease, and understanding CENP‑E’s stabilizing role could reshape how therapies target cell division. In drug development, treatments designed to interfere with chromosome movement may need to be rethought, shifting focus toward stabilization rather than motor activity. And in fundamental science, the finding is a reminder that even long‑established “facts” can be overturned when new evidence emerges, reshaping our understanding of life’s most essential processes.
By revealing CENP‑E’s true function, scientists have not only corrected a misconception but opened new pathways for research into how cells divide, how diseases spread, and how medicine might evolve to meet these challenges.