Multimedia Gallery
Polymers that repel each other can parse into phase-separated droplets
This artist's rendering depicts researchers' discovery of how mixtures of polymers that repel each other can parse into phase-separated droplets, like oils in a lava lamp. Interaction between droplets and the cell wall limits the size of the droplets and causes bubbling of the outside of the membrane.
[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant DMR 1810540.]
Learn more in the UC Davis blog story 'Lava lamp' vesicles show how cells could self-organize. (Date of image: Unknown; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: July 21, 2023)
Credit: Rendering by Wan-Chih Su, UC Davis
Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.
Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.
Also Available:
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (362.1 KB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.