Biomolecular condensation of macromolecules is an increasingly important concept in cell biology. Indeed, research on condensates touches on multiple areas of research, from biochemistry to biophysics and from organelles to cell polarity. We asked experts at the forefront of this field to comment on what excites them most regarding biomolecular condensation, as well as on current challenges, priorities

Enhancer activation is generally accompanied by a reduction in DNA methylation (5-methylcytosine, 5mC) during mammalian development, but whether DNA demethylation regulates enhancer activity is unclear.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with diverse genetic etiologies. Pathology resulting from the DNA- and RNA-binding protein TDP-43 has been observed in neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS, frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and others. Linares et al. show that suppression of the pre-mRNA splicing factor SYF2 ameliorates neurodegeneration in ALS by improving

Dimple Notani is principal investigator (PI) at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, India, studying gene regulation. Nature Cell Biology contacted Dimple to discuss the state of the field and her experience running a research lab in India through a pandemic and as a junior PI.

Since stem cells were first discovered, researchers have identified distinct stem cell populations in different organs and with various functions, converging on the unique abilities of self-renewal and differentiation toward diverse cell types. These abilities make stem cells an incredibly promising tool in therapeutics and have turned stem cell biology into a fast-evolving field. Here, stem cell biologists

Daylon James in an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, where his work focuses on reproductive biology and cell-based approaches for treating infertility. Arun Sharma is an assistant professor at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Regenerative Medicine Institute, and his lab works on modelling cardiovascular diseases and developing cell-based screening platforms for drug toxicity

Kara McKinley is an assistant professor of stem-cell and regenerative biology at Harvard University. In addition to advancing our understanding of endometrial regeneration, she has tackled the gender bias in the academic job market by founding the ‘Leading Edge Fellows’ program. Nature Cell Biology contacted her to discuss her career and goals for our research community.

The Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) in Singapore has helped the local scientific community to grow. Nature Cell Biology spoke to Wanjin Hong (executive director at A*STAR’s IMCB) and Guillaume Thibault (associate professor affiliated with Nanyang Technological University Singapore, National University of Singapore and A*STAR’s IMCB), who have dedicated parts of their careers to the growth

The receptor tyrosine kinase DDR1 is mechanoresponsive to extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness and affects Hippo and YAP signalling, but the precise mechanisms of this are unclear. Liu et al. report that DDR1 regulates YAP and that ECM stiffness can stimulate liquid–liquid phase separation of both DDR1 and the Hippo pathway kinase LATS1.

Transcription factors (TFs) that regulate zygotic genome activation (ZGA) are maternally deposited. Shen et al. now report that comprehensive nuclear pore complex (NPC) maturity is linked to maternal TF transport into nuclei and ZGA.

Signal transduction from the plasma membrane involves local recruitment and activation of proteins, which can occur via the lipid PI(4,5)P2 (phosphatidyl-D-myo-inositol-4,5-bisphosphate). Whether its binding partners indirectly enrich the lipid at plasma membrane subdomains or pools of the lipids are first created locally has been unclear. Pacheco et al. have now determined the trajectories of PI(4