{"record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"345704f67ad3b7c0a648d593797fe0e0b76c734b1ef5e7b93389d05415b6e0f6","created":"2026-10-03T07:17:57Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":[],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["5475cf5dc5b1a72283d26dc95dc6e00d7ea4e00096a7c6492e409a1816eeb011"],"salt":"3419871c1eb1a39cc80f6509fc12792f0feb3e481305d299d4b4d3cf55ea3333","schema":"pubphys.record/2","site":"pubphys.com","target":null,"type":"revision"},"content":{"answer_type":"classification","assisted_by":[],"external_id":"bio.condensates.function-or-byproduct","kind":"phenomenon","literature_status":"contested","n":"1","parents":[],"plain":"Many proteins form droplets in cells, but whether the droplet itself does a job, or forms only because the proteins happen to be sticky, is often unknown. Separating the two requires changing droplet formation without changing the proteins' other properties.","posed_since":"","precise":"For a given condensate (nucleolus, stress granules, transcriptional condensates), determine whether phase separation itself, as distinct from the underlying molecular binding, changes a measurable cellular output (reaction rate, transcriptional burst frequency, stress survival), using perturbations that shift $c_{sat}$ while preserving binding affinities.","problem_ref":null,"references":"","settled_by":"Separation-of-function mutants that abolish or induce condensation at fixed binding affinity, with measured effects on the cellular output.","status_note":"Functional claims for transcriptional condensates remain disputed as of 2026.","title":"Do condensates perform functions beyond molecular binding?","topic_ref":"543417a9e932d4539361d9de3ab0b3df002be16d6b1f7e3413f005ca5af8568d"},"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"87894054d0de82a65999b058b265d937a9e08eec911250655ce8c4926894d6ca","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"envelope":{"attested_hash":"bb45d3495efe336f468378483701974fc38cc42cdd36909c9a082d02f7024210","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"Bl6ghFzAVruXp6stmMVDiYKXWizssZpZtrm2F_eV2tZX52mNO6Bh7NX5Kkc2OPZrkh7BZPGWpFVn7agX_YPOBg"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"record_hash":"87894054d0de82a65999b058b265d937a9e08eec911250655ce8c4926894d6ca","leaf_index":750}