Analysis of formin functions during cytokinesis using specific inhibitor SMIFH2.

The phragmoplast separates daughter cells during cytokinesis by constructing the cell plate, which depends on interaction between cytoskeleton and membrane compartments. Proteins responsible for these interactions remain unknown, but formins can link cytoskeleton with membranes and several members of formin protein family localize to the cell plate. Progress in functional characterization of formins in cytokinesis is hindered by functional redundancies within the large formin gene family.

Hybrid solar cell on a carbon fiber.

In this work, a method to assemble nanoscale hybrid solar cells in the form of a brush of radially oriented CdS nanowire crystals around a single carbon fiber is demonstrated for the first time. A solar cell was assembled on a carbon fiber with a diameter of ~5-10 μm which served as a core electrode; inorganic CdS nanowire crystals and organic dye or polymer layers were successively deposited on the carbon fiber as active components resulting in a core-shell photovoltaic structure. Polymer, dye-sensitized, and inverted solar cells have been prepared and compared with their analogues made on the flat indium-tin oxide electrode.