Chemists at the University of Minnesota, led by Kate Adamala, recently built a synthetic cell that eats, grows, and divides; purely by putting together molecules in the laboratory. Their creation, called SpudCell, can only divide for five generations. What will it take to make it grow for longer? And why bother making a synthetic cell in the first place?
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Chapters:
00:00 SpudCell is not alive
05:16 How SpudCell was made
13:14 How to make a continuously replicating cell
29:48 Finding new mechanisms for cell division
40:38 What is the point of SpudCell?
54:51 Mirror life, and whether SpudCell uniquely enables it
1:14:38 Biotic, China, and 2050
What is The New Biology?
The New Biology features long-form discussions with historians, technologists, and scientists who are working on some of the biggest ideas in biotechnology, from magnet-controlled medicines to virtual cells.
Supported by Astera Institute.