30. November 2022
Molecular Assembly Lines in Active Droplets
Cells assemble structures that have lots of molecules. How can such complicated structures be reliably assembled? We propose that cells could be organizing an assembly line process for the construction. We show how this could be organized inside droplets. In this video we explain our recent…
30. November 2022
A quick intro to the Phase Diagram
Phase Diagrams are graphic representations that help understand many physical systems such as magnets and pure substances like water. These diagrams also help us understand how dense droplets of biomolecules, called Biomolecular Condensates, form inside cells. Phase Diagrams predict under which…
14. July 2022
A quick intro to Entropy
Have you ever seen a tepid cup of coffee getting hot? Or a pile of sand grains organizing themselves into a sand castle? It would be strange, right? But why? The reason is behind one of the most fundamental and general laws of physics: The Second Law of Thermodynamics. Prepared by Mariona Esquerda…
14. July 2022
A quick intro to the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Have you ever seen a tepid cup of coffee getting hot? Or a pile of sand grains organizing themselves into a sand castle? It would be strange, right? But why? The reason is behind one of the most fundamental and general laws of physics: The Second Law of Thermodynamics. Prepared by Mariona Esquerda…
2. May 2022
Intro to Phase Separation
Ink and water mix but oil and water don’t. We all know this. But why? Mixing and demixing are relevant processes for many different systems: from the air, you breathe to metallic alloys on your car wheels, and to the smoothie on your breakfast. Recent research shows that these processes also take…
14. March 2022
Biomolecular Condensates
In schoolbooks, cells are generally pictured as a membrane bubble full of smaller compartments also wrapped by a membrane. In reality, things differ from this simple picture. There are many compartments that are not bound by a membrane. Learn what they are and their amazing properties in this 2…
28. January 2022
Centrosome Assembly
Hyman lab postdoc Jeff Woodruff describes the great unknowns of centrosome assembly and his plan of attack. Written and narrated by Jeff Woodruff. Produced by Lisa Dennison.
28. January 2022
Phase Transition in Disease
In this video and the accompanying Cell paper, the Tony Hyman and Simon Alberti groups at Max Planck Institute propose an interesting idea that aging cells fail to maintain the liquid phase of ALS-associated protein FUS. The FUS liquid compartment instead forms disease-link solid phase…
28. January 2022
Phase Transitions in Cells
Hyman lab postdoc Louise Jawerth tackles the phase transitions that occur within the cytoplasm. Written and narrated by Louise Jawerth. Produced by Lisa Dennison.
28. January 2022
Phase separation in cell polarity
In this video abstract, Shamba Saha tells you about his recent publication in Cell, “Polar Positioning of Phase-Separated Liquid Compartments in Cells Regulated by an mRNA Competition Mechanism.” Learn more in the full paper Saha et al. (2016) published in Cell,…