New Life Cells

This July, scientists have reached a new breakthrough in science. Scientists from the University of Minnesota have built a cell structure that can grow, divide, feed, and compete by itself. This cell is called a SpudCell. The SpudCell gets its name from being shaped like a small potato. This scientific breakthrough is also able to compete with other SpudCells and then it adapts and changes over the generations for better survival.

This is the first engineered life cell that has been able to complete the whole life cycle. However, the cell isn’t going to be used for life, it will be used for basic life needs and resources. According to Live Science, “The thought is that SpudCell could serve as a tiny factory, pumping out medicines, fertilizers, plastics or any number of other compounds. This is helpful as the world is running low on resources such as fossil fuels, minerals, and fresh water.”

This cell is the first cell that was able to work and complete all the functions that our life cells do. According to the New York Times, “Unlike previous attempts to create lifelike cells, which have started with living cells whose genetic material is stripped down to the very basics, SpudCell is constructed from the “bottom up,” using lifeless chemical components. It’s the first time an artificial cell constructed this way has been able to complete a full life cycle and spawn the next generation.”

The cell research includes chemicals that scientists can control and experiment with to see what works the best for cell growth. However these cells are only alive, they aren’t exactly life. They cannot create their own ribosomes. Ribosomes are the needed factories inside of all living things to create proteins. So this SpudCell has to rely on the scientists to feed it a nutrient mix of enzymes and proteins.

“What I cannot build, I cannot understand.” U of M researcher, Richard Feynman