We want to highlight the publication of a special issue on Advanced Sciences, guest edited by SFB1551 spokespersons Edward Lemke, and Dorothee Dormann along with Miao Yu (former postdoc at the Lemke Lab and now group leader at Wuhan University).
“For decades, polymer science and molecular biology developed along separate paths — one focused on how long-chain molecules produce collective physical properties, the other treating DNA, RNA, and proteins primarily as information carriers and molecular machines. This Collection highlights a growing recognition that these fields are deeply intertwined: many cellular functions depend not just on biochemical identity but on the physical behavior of biomolecules as polymers, while living systems are simultaneously exposing the limits of classical polymer theory and inspiring new concepts within it. The result is a genuinely reciprocal exchange, in which polymer science offers a quantitative language for cellular organization, and biology, in turn, pushes polymer science toward new frontiers.“
Besides a masterfully written guest editorial piece on Polymer Concepts in Cellular Function, this issue features three research and one review paper from our network:
”A Phosphorylation-Induced Micellization Switch in the Low-Complexity Domain of TDP-43” by , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Access publication here
“A Unifying Thermodynamic Model for Phase Separation and Aging of Biopolymers” by , , Access publication here
“Dilute but Dense – Reversible Crosslinking Enables Water-Rich (Bio)polymer Condensates” by , , , , Access publication here
“Current Challenges of Transcription Compartmentalization Research” by , Access publication here
The collection compiles many other great articles from major Labs working in the field which make it even more special for our network.
Congratulations to all the authors at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Institute of Molecular Biology Mainz and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research on this successful interdisciplinary endeavor!
