Dan Bracha

TL;DR: Inspired by patchy colloid theory, this work proposes a general framework by which competing networks give rise to compositionally specific and tunable condensates, while relative linkage between nodes underlies multiphase organization.

TL;DR: Surprisingly, both experiments and simulations show that while intracellular concentrations may be insufficient for global phase separation, sequestering protein ligands to slowly diffusing nucleation centers can move the cell into a different region of the phase diagram, resulting in localized phase separation.

TL;DR: Engineering and manipulating phase-separated liquid organelles is the latest frontier in the quest to mimic and interrogate living systems at the molecular level, with the potential for widespread biomedical and biotechnological applications.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report that co-culture of human cells expressing the receptor ACE2 with cells expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike, results in synapse-like intercellular contacts that initiate cell-cell fusion, producing syncytia resembling those identified in lungs of COVID-19 patients.

TL;DR: It is reported that co-culture of human cells expressing the receptor ACE2 with cells expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike, results in synapse-like intercellular contacts that initiate cell-cell fusion, producing syncytia resembling those identified in lungs of COVID-19 patients.