In one of nature's innovations, a single cell smashes and rebuilds its own genome

(Princeton University) A study led by Princeton University researchers found that a pond-dwelling, single-celled organism has the remarkable ability to break its own DNA into nearly a quarter-million pieces and rapidly reassemble those pieces when it's time to mate. This elaborate process could provide a template for understanding how chromosomes in more complex animals such as humans break apart and reassemble, as can happen during the onset of cancer.