Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 13d

Good news in rough times:
Our work on generalising Lifshitz-Slyosov-Wagner (LSW) theory to active systems, led by the all-mighty Jonathan Bauermann, is out on PRL!! Special thanks to Christoph Weber @m-pol.bsky.social and Frank Jülicher.

doi-org.sire.ub.edu/10.1103/f5x9...

3 11

Stefan Köstler @stefankoestler2025.bsky.social · 14d

Many thanks to my colleagues @zwickergroup.bsky.social!
📄 arxiv.org/abs/2510.00827

1

Stefan Köstler @stefankoestler2025.bsky.social · 14d

🔬 This mechanism could be vital in biological cells to control condensates. Similarly, this method could allow creating micro-reactors for chemical assembly in synthetic applications or facilitate localized enzymatic activity for biomedical applications.

1 1

Stefan Köstler @stefankoestler2025.bsky.social · 14d

Taken together, advection modulates the initial dynamics — essentially independent of reactions — and biases the overall system toward a particular configuration, which is then maintained by reactions.

1

Stefan Köstler @stefankoestler2025.bsky.social · 14d

Interestingly, we find that multiple pattern sizes around the predicted one are stable!
Linear stability analysis reveals that emulsions become stable against Ostwald ripening from a minimal pattern size onwards.

1

Stefan Köstler @stefankoestler2025.bsky.social · 14d

Reactions arrest coarsening (left)
Advection accelerates early coarsening (right)

👉 We numerically and analytically determine the final equilibrium pattern size using a mapping to an equilibrium system.
👉 Looking at dissipation, we observe that advection peaks in early stages of coarsening.

1

Stefan Köstler @stefankoestler2025.bsky.social · 14d

New preprint 🥳
In our new paper, we show that “Advection selects pattern in multi-stable emulsions of active droplets” — which provides a path toward controlling regular arrangements of droplets. 🧵
📄 arxiv.org/abs/2510.00827

1 1 3

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Noah Ziethen @nziethen.bsky.social · 17d

New preprint 🎉
What began as Frieder Johannsen’s bachelor thesis in the @zwickergroup.bsky.social (which I had the pleasure to supervise) evolved into our latest paper: “Chemically Active Liquid Bridges Generate Repulsive Forces” — unlike passive ones, which attract.
📄 arxiv.org/abs/2509.18777

1 3 11

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

eLife @elife.bsky.social · Jul 31

“Journals and peer review are unlikely to change for the better if the companies that operate scientific indexes and citation databases continue to stifle innovation.”

Read our guest post in DORA: buff.ly/EGDbskH

4 11

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Zwicker Group @zwickergroup.bsky.social · Jul 16

Our institute turned 100 years today! We had a fantastic celebration with scientific talks by Howard Stone and Christina Marchetti. 🎉

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft @maxplanck.de · Jul 14

Das Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation in Göttingen feiert am 16. Juli seinen 100. Geburtstag. Ein Blick auf die Geschichte des Instituts und die Verantwortung, die daraus erwächst. www.mpg.de/25050354/100... #Wissenschaftsgeschiche #Physik

Große Physik und große Verantwortung

Vor hundert Jahren nahm das Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Strömungsforschung seine Arbeit auf. Aus ihm wurde das heutige Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, das grundlegende Fragen d...

www.mpg.de

1 9

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

WeberLab@McGill @weber-lab.bsky.social · Jul 11

And that concludes our #kitp program on biomolecular condensates 😢 Wow, what an *incredible* experience, and unique place to learn and think and grow! 🤓

1 3 14

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Jeremy Schmit @schmitbiophysics.bsky.social · Jun 28

Can't say enough about the Condensates program at @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social. Invigorating discussions, fantastic facilities, and a beautiful location (a place I consider "home"). Thanks to @weber-lab.bsky.social, @jerelleaj.bsky.social, @zwickergroup.bsky.social, and Frank Julicher for organizing!

1 3 18

Stefan Köstler @stefankoestler2025.bsky.social · Jun 14

Just leaving Paris after 3 weeks of summer school on combining maths and physics to tackle #ActiveMatter.
I gained new perspectives, met wonderful people and had fascinating discussions. It was great to communicate my research to so many interested people!
And of course, Paris was just wonderful!

2

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

WeberLab@McGill @weber-lab.bsky.social · Jun 13

@jerelleaj.bsky.social, master painter 👩🏽‍🎨 of the blackboard 👩🏽‍🏫, in action! 🤩 She is amazing at capturing the essence of our complex, meandering (and sometimes contentious) discussions @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social

5 20

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Zwicker Group @zwickergroup.bsky.social · May 29

It’s been a lot of fun talking about chemically active condensates to such an attentive and motivated crowd!

WeberLab@McGill @weber-lab.bsky.social · May 29

David @zwickergroup.bsky.social gives the first tutorial of the biomol25 program @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social, reminding us that phase equilibria and chemical equilibria are coupled by thermodynamics

1 9

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Zwicker Group @zwickergroup.bsky.social · May 28

We updated our pre-print on equilibria in multicomponent mixtures: arxiv.org/abs/2405.01138 In particular, we added the figure below, which shows that such mixtures exhibit countless metastable states between a metastable homogeneous state and the equilibrium with many phases.

1 1 12

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Young Biophysicists Meeting @youngbiophymeet.bsky.social · May 7

Huge thanks to all the incredible speakers who have shared their research at the Young Biophysicists Meeting so far!

Here's a glimpse.

See you in the next session!

1 7 12

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Martina Winkler @martinawinkle14.bsky.social · May 6

Ein großes Problem für den Kampf gegen #Machtmissbrauch ist der Mangel an verlässlichen Daten. Umso wichtiger ist die Forschung so engagierter Wissenschaftler*innen wie @leising.bsky.social @janalasser.bsky.social oder Andrea Kübler.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Can Germany rein in its academic bullying problem?

Researchers and administrators are exploring ways to restructure a rigid hierarchy that can breed power abuses.

www.nature.com

5 11

Stefan Köstler @stefankoestler2025.bsky.social · Mar 16

I am looking forward to tell you about my research at #DPG. Come by my poster on wednesday to learn how coarsening of active droplets can be controlled by active reactions!

Zwicker Group @zwickergroup.bsky.social · Mar 16

Excited for the #DPG meeting in Regensburg this week! Our group has a number of contributions across various sections. We look forward to discuss our science with you!

A list of all contributions of the Zwicker Group at the meeting. Details at https://www.dpg-verhandlungen.de/year/2025/conference/regensburg/search?query=David+Zwicker&submit=Suchen

1 3

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Zwicker Group @zwickergroup.bsky.social · Mar 3

We have an open postdoc position in our group! We seek motivated and fun people with a background in theoretical biological physics to work on projects revolving around pattern formation, cell biology, and particularly #condensates. Details: www.ds.mpg.de/4078435/job_...

#TheoBiophysicsPosition

Postdoctoral Position (m/f/d) | Biological Physics

For the independent research group “Theory of Biological Fluids” headed by Dr. David Zwicker we seek to fill a Postdoctoral Position (m/f/d) in Biological Physics.

www.ds.mpg.de

11 20

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Zwicker Group @zwickergroup.bsky.social · Feb 25

We published a one-page article in Nat. Chem. Eng. on phase separation in multicomponent mixtures: rdcu.be/ea4Ts

The article exposes our latest results, which indicate such mixtures are generically multistable and imply that states with various different droplets (or none at all) are all stable.

To mix or not to mix?

Nature Chemical Engineering - David Zwicker discusses the delicate balance between entropy and enthalpy that determines whether fluids comprising many components mix or phase separate.

rdcu.be

1 1 12

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics @mpi-cbg.de · Jan 30

MPI-CBG director Anthony Hyman @hymanlab.bsky.social will deliver the EMBO Lecture at the 49th FEBS Congress in Istanbul in July 2025. Read an interview with him, where he shares some of his inspirations and interests. network.febs.org/posts/anthon...

Anthony Hyman: "...the realization of phase separation as a critical organizing principle in cellular biology has transformed the field."

From a 1920s book to nanoscopy – Anthony Hyman, who will deliver the EMBO Lecture at the 49th FEBS Congress in Istanbul in July 2025, shares some of his inspirations and interests.

network.febs.org

6 26

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Hyman Lab @hymanlab.bsky.social · Jan 23

"Mysterious Blobs Found inside Cells Are Rewriting the Story of How Life Works"

Exciting times ahead!

www.scientificamerican.com/article/myst...

Mysterious Blobs in Cells Are Changing the Way We Understand Life

Tiny specks called biomolecular condensates are leading to a new understanding of the cell

www.scientificamerican.com

7 18

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Zwicker Group @zwickergroup.bsky.social · Jan 24

We wrote a review on the "Physics of droplet regulation in biological cells": arxiv.org/abs/2501.13639 Beside the basic #physics of phase separation, we discuss three aspects that separate cellular from traditional droplets:

A schematic picture of a cell, showing condensates, a nucleus and the cytoskeleton.

1 14 51

Reposted by Stefan Köstler

Zwicker Group @zwickergroup.bsky.social · Jan 23

We just updated our preprint on size-control of condensates by electrostatic effects: arxiv.org/abs/2409.15599 This joint work with the group of @jerelleaj.bsky.social shows that electrostatic effects matter, even when one would naively expect that screening by salt is strong.

Condensate Size Control by Net Charge

Biomolecular condensates are complex droplets comprising diverse molecules that interact using various mechanisms. Condensation is often driven by short-ranged attraction, but net charges can also med...

arxiv.org

1 3 14