Scientists from the University of Minnesota have created an artificial cell that eats, grows, and splits to make new cells. It’s nicknamed the SpudCell. However it is far from an actual cell, and scientists are now questioning what life really is.
Most cells are complicated, but the SpudCell is really simple. It’s just a cell-sized drop of water surrounded by a fatty membrane, only with some chemicals and 36 “pieces” of DNA and some RNA stuffed inside of it. That is so little that most cells have 50 more times of DNA inside. “Researchers have long dreamed about creating cells in the lab.” Even though the SpudCell is a successful cell, it can only survive in the lab because SpudCells were never able to feed and divide based on their genome and evolve. They can do basic things that all life needs to do such as translate RNA into proteins. But still there is debate if the SpudCell is really a proper life form. The main problem of the SpudCell is that the cell can’t evolve, such as when the team from the University of Minnesota, gave a genetic mutation that leads the SpudCells to produce more surface area for feeding, ingest more “food,” and grow faster to a SpudCell. However, after five generations, 60% of the SpudCell’s genome still carries the mutation, and that doesn’t fit the rule of evolution because the cell should mechanically change .
Even though the SpudCell has many errors, it is a huge step in synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is how humans change other organisms genetically. In the future, if we can modify and create new organisms, we could create brand new medicines, change food and tackle global issues; and the SpudCell is showing we are having a huge step towards that. The SpudCell is the closest we have ever been to a cell, even though it is not flawless it resembles how we can modify organisms.
Works Cited:
Sources: https://newsforkids.net/articles/2026/07/29/spudcell-scientists-create-artificial-cell/
science.org/content/article/lab-created-spudcell-marks-major-step-toward-building-life-scratch