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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Mapping Absolute DNA Density in Cell Nuclei using Single-molecule Localization Microscopy
Published on: November 11, 2025
Active processes shape and move the genome and nucleoplasm
1Center for Soft Matter Research, Department of Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Abstract:
Active processes are omnipresent in the cell nucleus. From genome-based activities such as transcription and replication, to metabolic activity in the nucleoplasm and its liquid condensates, the nucleus is far from thermodynamic equilibrium. The nucleus' active nature leads to many emergent properties of its principal components - the genome and the nucleoplasm - ranging from genome's compartmentalization, coherent chromatin motions, emergent rheology, to non-equilibrium liquid-liquid phase separations of the nucleoplasm. Its rich phenomenology makes the nucleus well-suited to bring new non-equilibrium physics to light, which in turn reveals its complex underlying physiology. Understanding the role of active processes in the spatial organization and dynamics of the genome and the nucleoplasm is critical for new insights into the function of the human genome.
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