In this animation, tubulin proteins snap into place like Lego blocks to build a microtubule, part of the cell’s skeleton. When construction ends, this long hollow cylinder falls to pieces from its top end. The breakdown is critical for many basic biological processes, including cell division, when rapidly shortening microtubules pull chromosomes into each daughter cell. Understanding and visualizing this process is useful for cancer research. For more information: http://biobeat.nigms.nih.gov/2014/07/cool-video-how-a-microtubule-builds-and-deconstructs/