ERIK CHEN

Abstract Photobodies (PBs) are phytochrome B (phyB)-organized nuclear condensates that nucleate at defined subnuclear seeding sites and decrease in number with warming. How cells set PB number—and, more broadly, condensate number—remains poorly understood. Here we show that phyB’s output module (OPM) functions as a universal nucleator for all site-defined PB types, whereas the photosensory module (PSM) attenuates this activity, enabling environmental control.

I blink my eyes open. I am facing the same brick wall that greets me every morning. Then, there’s the smell: the air is thick with my cellmate’s flatulence, trapped in by the welded-shut window of our cell. I roll over to check the time. It’s 3 a.m., but the clock display is visible in the light from the overhead fixture that stays on no matter what time it is.

Education Martin Luther King High School COSMOS Students Advance to State Science Fair Award-winning microbiology project aims to combat water contamination as team heads to California competition. From left to right: Shanmukh Bachhu and Patrick Moon stand in front of their project, looking ahead with confidence to the next level of competition.