Metabolic Activity to Animate Coacervate Materials

Explore how metabolic activity can be harnessed to animate coacervate materials in this 43-minute conference talk from the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics. Learn about the mechanisms living cells use to coordinate molecular activity in space and time, particularly through membrane-less compartments called biomolecular condensates. Discover how these condensates participate in diverse biological functions including gene expression, signal transduction, and neurotransmission, while exhibiting varying lifetimes, sizes, mechanochemical properties, and architectures. Examine the current challenges in understanding how the emergent physical properties of condensates mediate their biological functions, and investigate new approaches for characterizing condensates and delineating their roles. Gain insights into theoretical frameworks and simulation approaches for describing biomolecular condensates, along with experimental methods for mapping in silico and in vitro droplets to condensates inside cells. Understand the physicochemical principles that shape condensate behavior and their potential applications in materials science and biotechnology.