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World-First Working Eukaryotic Cell Made From Plastic

Posted by samzenpus on from the I-prefer-real-cells dept.

Zothecula writes "Previously, chemists have managed to create artificial cell walls and developed synthetic DNA to produce self-replicating, synthetic bacterial cells. Now, for the first time, researchers have used polymers to produce an artificial eukaryotic cell capable of undertaking multiple chemical reactions through working organelles."

10 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. I'm sure one of them said it. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 5, Funny

    What scientist could resist? I picture one in the lab, cackling wildly, "It's alive. IT'S ALIVE!"

    1. Re:I'm sure one of them said it. by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 5, Funny

      I hope the next one said "You fools! You'll destroy us all!"

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  2. Not a cell by sandertje · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Without their creation being able to replicate, it is essentially not a cell. All they've done now is having made a compartmentalized catalyst.

    1. Re:Not a cell by cnettel · · Score: 4, Informative

      In other words, they made very neat bags of mostly water.

    2. Re:Not a cell by Sockatume · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Blame the university's press department, as always. There's quite a jump in hyperbole between the Ange and Nature Chem's comments, versus the press release. Why do journalists even read university press releases any more? You know they're going to be misleading.

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      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    3. Re:Not a cell by reboot246 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hey, I'm a very neat bag of water! Well, mostly water.

  3. Re:nerdgasm by oodaloop · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hope not, given that it's written at a 6th grade level and it's only two sentences. But hey, if you're a 5th grader that's probably pretty good!

    --
    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
  4. No, they did not by jw3 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Again, the press release is misleading. Worse, it fires back on the real and great accomplishment by suggesting it is something that it is not.

    The scientists managed to squeeze key enzymes into different minuscule compartments of a cell-like structure. That in itself is fascinating and a great achievement; but that doesn't make an eukaryotic cell. It does not replicate; it does not synthesize the lipid-like structures; it lacks a cytoskeleton and a complex organization; the reactions going on are few and very simple. It is as much an eukaryotic cell as a neural net algorithm is a working brain.

    However, it has working enzymes within little bubbles within other bubbles, which can be called "compartmentalization", a feature of eukaryotic cells that distinguish them from bacterial cells.

    Nonetheless, this is a considerable achievment that has both a practical side and is a working model with potential to make in vitro experiments helping to understand the processes that go on in the real cells.

  5. Re:Hmmm by oodaloop · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think some things have RNA instead of DNA. And some things that are non-living have DNA, like viruses (or viri? whatever).

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    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
  6. Re:nerdgasm by fisted · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, modding it informative would have been funnier than modding it funny

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