FOCAL POINT Enxiu Wang (second from left), Michael Lampson (sixth from left), and Edward Ballister (sixth from right) investigated how Aurora B kinase spreads its influence. Treating cells with monastrol spurred the mitotic spindle to rearrange into a flower shape (right), with the centromeres in the middle. Purple indicates high levels of phosphorylation near the centromeres, and orange indicates lower levels farther away. The gradient along the chromosomes suggests that activated Aurora B diffuses to its targets.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDA ROBINSON