of the components of cell division that is often observed in fission yeast. Well-conserved components of cytokinesis are observed in fission yeast and allow us to look at various genomic scenarios and pinpoint mutations. Cytokinesis is a permanent step and very crucial to the wellbeing of the cell. Contractile ring formation in particular is heavily studied by researchers using S. pombe as a model system. The contractile ring is highly conserved in both fission yeast and human cytokinesis. Mutations in cytokinesis can result in many malfunctions of the cell including cell death and development of cancerous cells. This is a complex process in human cell division, but in S. pombe simpler experiments can yield results that can then be applied for research in higher-order model systems such as humans. One of the safety precautions that the cell takes to ensure precise cell division occurs is the cell-cycle checkpoint. These checkpoints ensure any mutagens are eliminated. This is done often by relay signals that stimulate ubiquitination of the targets and delay cytokinesis. Without mitotic check points such as these, mutagens are created and replicated, resulting in multitudes of cellular issues including cell death or tumorigenesis seen in cancerous cells. Paul Nurse, Leland Hartwell, and Tim Hunt were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001. They discovered key conserved checkpoints that are crucial for a cell to divide properly. These findings have been linked to cancer and diseased cells and are a notable finding for biomedicine. Researchers using fission yeast as a model system also look at organelle dynamics and responses and the possible correlations between yeast cells and mammalian cells. Mitochondria diseases, and various organelle systems such as the Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum, can be further understood, by observing fission yeast's chromosome dynamics and protein expression levels and regulation. Biomedical tool However, there are limitations with using fission yeast as a model system: its multidrug resistance. "The MDR response involves overexpression of two types of drug efflux pumps, the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family... and the major facilitator superfamily". Paul Nurse and some of his colleagues have recently created S. pombe strains sensitive to chemical inhibitors and common probes to see whether it is possible to use fission yeast as a model system of chemical drug research. For example, Doxorubicin, a very common chemotherapeutic antibiotic, has many adverse side-effects. Researchers are looking for ways to further understand how