phase separation

The MIT biologist studies how RNA molecules self-assemble and the role these accumulations may play in diseases such as ALS and Huntington’s.

Three prizes were awarded to six researchers working across the life sciences on cellular organization, protein structure, and the genetic underpinnings of a chronic sleep disorder.

Environmental pressure seems to spawn changes in the intrinsically disordered regions of enzymes in polar yeasts, allowing them to adapt to extreme cold.

Liquid conglomerations of molecules that form in bacterial cells in response to stress promote the cells’ survival, a study finds.

Mechanically sensitive proteins called gellins sense and respond to protoplasm flowing out of severed hyphae, quickly sealing up injuries in these root-like structures of fungi.

What do scientists know about this membraneless nuclear body discovered less than two decades ago?

Discovering a new type of subnuclear body taught me how pursuing the unexpected can lead to new insights—in this case, about long noncoding RNAs and liquid-liquid phase separation in cells.

The physical principles that dictate the formation of these subcellular compartments are simple, but they dictate the organelles’ complex functions.