Mitosis is a dynamic and stochastic process that has evolved to accurately segregate the
genetic material into two daughter cells, thereby preventing genomic instability and the
development of disease. Mitosis is a phenomenally complicated process that involves hundreds,
if not thousands, of protein components and regulatory steps that operate in both
space and time to drive cell division. Modern methods make it possible to ask for mechanistic
principles underlying this bewildering complexity. The main purpose of this volume is
to provide an up-to-date collection of methods and approaches that are used to investigate
the mechanism of mitosis at the molecular level. While many of these methods are focused
on mammalian cells, we have, where appropriate, included chapters using model organisms.
We hope to capture both current approaches and the future direction of method
development, with contributions from both established researchers and emerging young
scientists.