How Protein Condensates Age

  Protein condensates are dense droplets of proteins that organise the interior of the cell. Curiously, they age, meaning their physical properties such as viscosity change over time. In our paper "Theory of rheology and aging of protein condensates" published in PRX Life, we study how…

Diving into the Free Energy: Part 1

  Get ready to dive into the Free Energy! Cells can be described as systems made of different phases. For instance, biomolecular condensates are dense droplets of proteins that coexist with the rest of the cytoplasm. Thermodynamics is a helpful theoretical framework to understand phases in…

Diving into the Free Energy: Part 2

  Get ready to dive into the Free Energy! If we want to understand phases in cells we need to talk about the Free Energy of a thermodynamic system. This is the second part of the video “Diving into the Free Energy”. In this video, we will understand how thermodynamic mixtures reach…

How do single molecules move in and out of condensates?

  Cells organize their interior into functional compartments, some without an enclosing membrane. These dense liquid droplets of biomolecules coexist with the surrounding environment like oil drops in water constantly exchanging material with it. How is the random movement of single…