A University of Minnesota team led by Kate Adamala reported a synthetic cell they call SpudCell that was assembled from chemical building blocks and can feed, grow, replicate its DNA, and divide. The researchers built SpudCell from nonliving components and endowed it with a small set of genes rather than a full natural genome; one post summarized that the construct contains about 36 genes compared with roughly 20,000 genes in humans. SpudCell still depends on external support: investigators supplied liposomes and other factors, and the cell cannot make new ribosomes, break down worn proteins, or divide unaided. Adamala and collaborator Drew Endy said the project is a proof of principle showing molecules can reconstitute behaviors normally associated with life, and they are organizing a community of scientists to try to make SpudCells more fully living rather than patenting the design. Reporters described the advance as a major step toward understanding how life can emerge from chemistry and as a new experimental platform to study origins and synthetic biology.
