Microtubules as smart bombs

Microtubules (white filaments) homing in on a surface anchoring site (white dot marked with arrow in first image). This series of images shows the back of a cell as the cell moves downwards. As time goes on, the anchor site is bombarded by microtubules arriving first from the left (at 1'06") then below (at 4'46"), then from the left again (at 5'52") and from below again (at 7'42"). By 9'54", the anchor is completely dissolved and the back of the cell loses its grip. Figure courtesy of J. Victor Small. Copyright The Rockefeller University Press.