Biomolecular condensates are emerging as hubs of splicing regulation. This Review discusses the modulation of condensate functions through alternative splicing, regulation of (co-transcriptional) splicing at condensates and the involvement of these condensates in human diseases.

Ferroptosis is a non-apoptotic, iron-dependent cell death mechanism driven by plasma membrane lipid peroxidation and subsequent plasma membrane rupture. Various cellular compartments and organelles contribute to regulating susceptibility to ferroptosis. This regulation involves a plethora of mechanisms centred on iron metabolism and storage, lipid metabolism, and redox balance.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Cao (Baskin lab) discusses the development of MARS, which enables mitosis-specific recruitment of enzymes to the plasma membrane, exploiting the cell cycle’s natural regulation of PLEKHA5 phosphorylation.

Ancient proteins can provide phylogenetic information at a timescale that supersedes ancient DNA. Paleoproteomics could thus provide invaluable evolutionary insights, including into human evolution.

Tunnelling nanotubes, which are actin-based protrusions different from filopodia and cytokinetic bridges, connect cells in the zebrafish embryo, enabling the transport of proteins and organelles.

Cross-species host–pathogen or mutualistic RNA communication, especially through extracellular vesicles, can have important applications, including gene silencing in agriculture and RNA-based therapeutics.

Valerie Tornini discusses two studies that identified functional roles for small proteins encoded by short open reading frames, and highlights the potential for this research field in fundamental and clinical research.

C. David Allis’s discovery of the first histone acetyltransferase from Tetrahymena exemplifies an approach that continues to evolve and now has a crucial role in drug development.