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Protein patterns enable cellular processes. A general theory now identifies a non-equilibrium mechanism that generates an effective interfacial tension, shaping the geometry and intrinsic length scales of steady-state protein patterns.

Oscillatory Min protein patterns prevent abnormal bacterial cell division. Now it is shown that Min pattern formation is resource efficient and involves wavelength-invariant oscillations that are robust to physiological changes.

Optogenetically induced chemo-mechanical excitations are used to drive and study shape deformations in starfish oocytes. Understanding and eventually controlling such waves is important for the development of synthetic cells.

Self-organisation of Min protein patterns observed in vivo and in vitro differ qualitatively and quantitatively. Here the authors reconstituted Min proteins in laterally wide microchambers with a well-controlled height and show that the Min protein dynamics on the membrane crucially depend on the micro chamber height.

In the transition from laminar to turbulent pipe flow, puffs of turbulence form, split and decay. The phenomenology and lifetime of these turbulent puffs exhibit population dynamics that also drive predator–prey ecosystems on the edge of extinction.

Through a mechanochemical feedback loop involving Min proteins of Escherichia coli, liposomes start to move, which may help to design motile artificial cells.

Cell polarization of budding yeast recovers reliably and reproducibly from loss of one of its key components. Here, the authors show how this robustness emerges from redundant self-organization mechanisms coexisting within the underlying protein network.

A driven-dissipative system of non-interacting bosons may form multiple condensates—a dynamics described by birth–death processes that also occur in evolutionary game theory. Here, the authors apply game theory to show how the vanishing of relative entropy production governs condensate selection.

The communication in active systems plays an important role in their self-organization, yet the detail is not fully understood. Here, Ziepke et al. show the formation of complex structures at multiple scales amongst interactive agents that locally process information transmitted by chemical signals.

Meindlhumer et al. report a combined theoretical/experimental study of how the propagation direction of Min protein patterns can be altered by a bulk flow of solution.

Protein oscillations linked to cell division in Escherichia coli are shown to localize unrelated molecules on the cell membrane via a diffusiophoretic mechanism, in which an effective friction fosters cargo transport along the fluxes set up by the proteins.

Defects of a passive nematic liquid crystal made from actin filaments pattern the collective behaviour of active microtubules, creating macroscopic polar patterns and chiral loops.

Curvature-mediating proteins are known to induce specific membrane shapes, but whether motorprotein-lipid interactions remodel membranes too remains unclear. Here authors show that curvature-dependent lipid interactions of myosin-VI remodel the membrane geometry into dynamic spatial patterns.

In the C. elegans zygote, (anterior) aPAR and (posterior) pPAR proteins are key to polarity maintenance, what factors determine the selection of the polarity axis remains unclear. Here authors formulate a reaction-diffusion model in realistic cell geometry and find that long-axis polarisation is promoted by cytosolic dephosphorylation at onset and its steady state determined by minimising the length of the aPAR-pPAR interface.

This paper theoretically investigates the influence of mobility on biodiversity using a spatial 'rock–paper–scissors' game. A critical threshold of motility is identified, above which biodiversity is lost, but below which an entanglement of travelling spiral waves emerges and biodiversity is maintained.

A simple system for studying self-organization in biology comprises driven actin filaments, thought to interact primarily via binary collisions. Angle-resolved statistics suggest that the transition to polar order is driven by multi-filament events.

Collective motion is a ubiquitous self-organization phenomenon that can be observed in systems ranging from flocks of animals to the cytoskeleton. Similarities between these systems suggest that there are universal underlying principles. This idea can be tested with 'active' or 'driven' fluids, but so far such systems have offered limited parameter control. Here, an active fluid is studied that contains only a few components — actin filaments and molecular motors — allowing the control of all relevant system parameters.

Reptation theory has been widely adopted to describe the dynamics of entangled polymer solution, whereby a polymer follows the curvilinear Brownian motion along a tube. Here, the authors challenge this theory by showing long-time dynamics of semi-flexible polymers modulated by topological constraints.

A positive feedback loop which results in localized accumulation of the small GTPase Cdc42 generates cell polarity in budding yeast; however, such loops are inherently susceptible to noise. Here the authors demonstrate how two pathways that mediate Cdc42 recycling work together to ensure the robustness of symmetry breaking.

The development of glands involves cylindrical branches transforming into spherical alveoli. Now there is evidence to suggest that this process can be understood as a budding instability driven by a decrease in tension anisotropy in the tissue.

Cells exploit protein pattern formation to perform key processes, and do so while undergoing major shape changes. Experiments and theory together reveal a shape-adaptation mechanism capable of controlling protein dynamics even as the cell deforms.

Living cells use geometric, biochemical and mechanical guiding cues to control intracellular protein patterns that regulate many vital functions. This Review discusses mechanisms of pattern guidance unveiled in living cells and how to study them from a physics perspective.