In a small petri dish in a lab in Minnesota, a shapeless blob grows steadily, fed by scientists who imagine its future for biotechnology. Recently, synthetic biologists at the University of Minnesota created an artificial cell structure called SpudCell. The SpudCell has become a topic of intrigue for biologists worldwide, for good and bad reasons.

This presents an opportunity in biological engineering to create something greater. The potential of SpudCell to help the field of medicine is useful, but it also has the potential to be manipulated into things that can wreak havoc on humanity. The scientific community has mixed opinions about SpudCell, but one thing they cannot deny is the amazing scientific feat biologist Kate Adamala and her team achieved. 

A natural cell is extremely intricate because of the many biological features and assembly parts it requires to survive. Biologists at the University of Minnesota used a “bottom up” strategy to engineer their cell-like system, starting from abiotic building blocks to build a working model. Their method involved using lipid molecules to create a membrane structure and then adding nonliving cell parts, such as DNA, proteins, and monomers (building blocks) of life.

Researchers reported that the structure is capable of “feeding, growth, genome replication, genetically encoded division, and something close to evolution”. Although these are all functions of a natural cell, the SpudCell cannot survive without scientists feeding it mixes of proteins and enzymes because it lacks ribosomes, structures in a cell that fold proteins essential to a cell’s survival. The SpudCell also cannot divide or evolve without biologists carefully initiating the split. Most scientists agree that it “still has several key limitations that separate it from living cells”.

SpudCell can be used as a type of artificial stem cell for developing medicines and vaccines. This also means that it has the potential to be engineered into a biological weapon for bioterrorism, or it could be used to become something grow out of human control.

This raises compelling philosophical questions regarding the morality of synthetic biology. Dr. Adamala’s experiment has pioneered what might be the start of more advanced experiments in the field of synthetic biology. As her research continues, we will watch how SpudCell defines scientific history.