Daily PRESS — 4 июля 2026 г. в 11:56:44.336

Daily PRESS NEWS. Scientists React to the Lab-Made, Yet Lifelike, SpudCell This cell-like structure can grow, feed, divide and compete. Researchers ponder what it means for the future of synthetic biology and our definition of “life.” In a lab at the University of Minnesota, scientists have constructed a cell-like system that seems to perform all the functions of life. Squirming around in its petri dish, the so-called SpudCell feeds, grows and then divides, creating more SpudCells that compete and change across generations. SpudCell follows decades of similar efforts in the field of synthetic biology, which is the creation of new materials using biology as a foundation. Researchers’ quests to create artificial and alterable versions of life’s processes have led to substances that replace blood during emergencies, more efficiently carry medications through the body and advance regenerative medicines that can replace damaged cells or tissues. 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 news of SpudCell has caused many scientists to reflect on where the field of synthetic biology is headed — and what it means to be alive. “Keep in mind that ‘alive’ is not a precisely defined condition,” said John Glass, who leads synthetic cell research at the J. Craig Venter Institute and was not involved in the research. “As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said about pornography: ‘I know it when I see it.’ Being alive is sort of like that.”