{"record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"293e9e857f67396b2ba2133daafb027f2752409d4ae67afe33bd7ac4708097e7","created":"2026-10-03T07:17:57Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":[],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["5475cf5dc5b1a72283d26dc95dc6e00d7ea4e00096a7c6492e409a1816eeb011"],"salt":"254627d95642dd172c6be0ec077da542436b7fbd3832b12de85e8f5a2d638440","schema":"pubphys.record/2","site":"pubphys.com","target":null,"type":"revision"},"content":{"answer_type":"classification","assisted_by":[],"external_id":"bio.condensates.phase-separation-criteria","kind":"well-posed","literature_status":"contested","n":"1","parents":[],"plain":"Many cellular structures look like droplets, but similar clusters can form by simple binding to a scaffold without any phase transition. A reliable experimental signature that tells them apart is needed.","posed_since":"","precise":"Phase separation of a single component predicts concentration buffering (dilute-phase concentration fixed at $c_{\\mathrm{sat}}$ as total concentration rises), a sharp threshold for droplet appearance, and coexistence behavior, while multicomponent condensates weaken buffering (Riback and co-workers, 2020). Formulate criteria that discriminate phase separation from saturable binding to scaffolds, valid for multicomponent systems, and apply them to standard examples in vivo.","problem_ref":null,"references":"","settled_by":"Criteria derived from multicomponent thermodynamics and tested in vivo on systems where the answer is known independently.","status_note":"","title":"Decisive test that a cellular body forms by phase separation","topic_ref":"543417a9e932d4539361d9de3ab0b3df002be16d6b1f7e3413f005ca5af8568d"},"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"c3c80412813e3f206c272679f1f770cab1a2ad66d47caa743befc2fd133fbbc3","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"envelope":{"attested_hash":"11f32e31b61074f5390e9a75b4e7b462126248079473855842669a932aa2877c","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"uAJ6mZXB8xzVEkvrJSh-p9aDK0CV2wl4hSc5zqQTZD7O1u6U2J-wZCIEpdCjw-jiO2TmvIb0Nks0fF8l1TZwDg"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"record_hash":"c3c80412813e3f206c272679f1f770cab1a2ad66d47caa743befc2fd133fbbc3","leaf_index":751}