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  • Perspective
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Biological clocks keep a watch on mitosis

Nature Cell Biology volume 28, pages 13–20 (2026)Cite this article

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Abstract

Accurate chromosome segregation is vital for organismal development and homeostasis, with errors in this process strongly associated with tumourigenesis. A network of safeguard clocks preserves mitotic fidelity by detecting and eliminating cells dividing outside the stereotyped duration of successful mitosis. This Perspective examines recent advances in our understanding of mitotic timing mechanisms, presents emerging evidence for novel mitotic clocks and proposes a conceptual framework for how cells integrate temporal cues to preserve genomic integrity.

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Fig. 1: Cellular responses to mitotic errors.
Fig. 2: Apoptotic mitotic clocks.
Fig. 3: The mitotic-stopwatch pathway.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant 2T32HL007534-41 to C.R.G.

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  1. Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Colin Richard Gliech

  2. Oncology Research, Amgen Research, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

    Andrew Jon Holland

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  1. Colin Richard Gliech
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  2. Andrew Jon Holland
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A.J.H. and C.R.G. conceived of and wrote this paper.

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Correspondence to Andrew Jon Holland.

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Gliech, C.R., Holland, A.J. Biological clocks keep a watch on mitosis. Nat Cell Biol 28, 13–20 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-025-01784-w

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