TLDR · SCIENCE & FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY

FOR THE FIRST TIME, A CELL BUILT FROM SCRATCH GROWS AND DIVIDES

quantamagazine.org13 min read

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Biologists packed nonliving components into a cell-like membrane piece by piece, and the bag of molecules started to behave like life. The lab-made cell grew, replicated its DNA, and divided. While the cell is not alive, it is the strongest demonstration yet that it is possible to generate life from nonlife. It can't survive without constant deliveries of food and ribosomes, and it has no defenses or a good waste removal system.