Physical principles of controlling condensates by reactions

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• David Zwicker (Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organisation)
• Thursday 12 October 2023, 10:20-11:00
• Seminar Room 1, Newton Institute.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact nobody.

SPLW03 - Biological condensates: cellular mechanisms governed by phase transitions

Condensates spatially partition the complex cellular interior using genetically encoded interactions between various biomolecules. Yet, to fulfill countless cellular functions, condensates also need to form at the right time, at the right position, and with the right size. I will demonstrate how driven chemical reactions enable such control. Based on thermodynamic constraints, I will show that reactions involving the droplet material must be driven out of equilibrium, e.g., by consuming ATP . Then, enzymes concentrated inside or outside the droplet can create compositional gradients that affect droplet nucleation, shape, and position. Interestingly, the length scale associated with this reaction-diffusion system governs droplet size and spacing, akin to Turing patterns. I will make this analogy more precise by discussing Turing patterns with physical interactions, i.e., non-ideal diffusion. In summary, I will discuss the intertwined physics of non-ideal diffusion and chemical reactions, which is relevant beyond Biology.

This talk is part of the Isaac Newton Institute Seminar Series series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• All CMS events
• Featured lists
• INI info aggregator
• Isaac Newton Institute Seminar Series
• School of Physical Sciences
• Seminar Room 1, Newton Institute
• bld31

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.