Scientists in Canada have had a breakthrough studying one of the most fundamental parts of life: cell division. The results may influence future cancer research.

As eScience News reports, a team of Canadian and British researchers have managed to discover new information about how our body’s cells divide. A human being begins from a single cell that divides countless times, and many of our cells continue to divide throughout our lives, with significant consequences for our health. As Gilles Hickson, member of the research team, asserts, “Division is a complex and robust process that is generally performed flawlessly, but when an error occurs…it can be a source for triggering cancer.”

Previously it was thought that the chromosomes present in our dividing cells were passive bystanders during the process, being pulled apart by structures called microtubules. However, working with fruit flies, the research team discovered that the chromosomes emit signals—such as a specific enzyme complex now known as Sds22-PP1—to the microtubules. Since this enzyme directly effects the physical structure of the cell, elongating it to make it ready for division, it offers new and exciting possibilities for research.

Cancer is at its core a disease in which cells divide in an unchecked and harmful manner, and Hickson for one believes that this new understanding of how all cells divide may guide future treatments. “Ultimately, this could help the rational design of more specific therapies to inhibit the division of cancer cells,” he said. “Ideally without affecting the healthy cells that are divided at the same time.”