A synthetic cell built from scratch — no living components, just liposomes, DNA, and 36 commercial enzymes standing in for protein synthesis — grew, copied its own DNA, and split into two, according to Quanta’s report on this synthetic-cell milestone: the first time researchers have watched an artificial cell complete a full division cycle. Kate Adamala’s lab at the University of Minnesota triggered the split by borrowing a trick from physicist Reinhard Lipowsky — attaching protein tags to the membrane that draw in other proteins, crowd together, and bend the membrane until it pinches in two.
The cell can’t survive on its own; it needs a constant outside supply of ribosomes and raw materials, and it has no genes for producing its own energy. Adamala compared the milestone to early aviation: “We built a Wright flyer … the first bike frame with wings.” J. Craig Venter Institute biologist John Glass called it “a watershed event for the synthetic-cell field,” and chemist Sijbren Otto called it “a big step forward to this holy grail of making a living thing.”
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