Description
Clifford P. Brangwynne and Anthony A. Hyman were awarded the 2023 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for the discovery of a new cellular process. Until recently, it was thought that most of the work in a cell goes on in organelles – specialized subunits enclosed by membranes. But Brangwynne and Hyman discovered an entirely new physical principle that concentrates cellular interactions between proteins and other biomolecules, in the absence of membranes. They described dynamic liquid-like droplets that form rapidly by phase separation – similar to oil droplets forming in water – producing temporary structures protected from the molecular turmoil of the watery cell interior. Since their discovery, they and others have shown that these membraneless liquid condensates play a role in numerous cellular processes, including signalling, cell division, the nested structure of nucleoli in the cell nucleus, and the regulation of DNA. Their discovery is a fundamental advance in our understanding of cellular organization, and is likely to lead to clinical applications in the future, including for neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS.
Watch Eileen Gu and Magnus Carlsen award Brangwynne and Hyman the Breakthrough Prize: https://youtu.be/puqiWMgEfUM?si=oplE3NAWCaEkNQT4