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Simon Alberti. Max Planck Institute, Germany, Dresden, Germany. Cells that are exposed to environmental fluctuations undergo changes on multiple levels to alter their physiology, metabolism and architecture. Our recent work shows that many of these changes happen in a controlled manner and involve a reorganization of the cytoplasm and the formation of membraneless compartments via a process known as phase separation. This challenges an established paradigm in cell biology, which posits that intracellular compartmentalization requires membranes. Our very recent findings show that the material properties of these membrane-less compartments are widely adjustable and can be modified along a continuum of physical states from liquid to gel to solid. Such changes in the material state endow cells with control over diffusionlimited biochemical processes. Most importantly, we recently discovered that the …