Kate Adamala

Synthetic biologist and associate professor of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development at the University of Minnesota, where she leads research on programmable minimal cells, synthetic-cell engineering, ribogenesis, and biosafety.

Synthetic Cells Achieve Genetically Encoded Feeding and Division

Kate Adamala, a synthetic biologist at the University of Minnesota, argues that her lab’s “spud cells” mark a meaningful but limited step toward constructed life: defined vesicles can now use genetic programs to recruit nutrients and initiate division. The cells still rely on externally supplied ribosomes, transfer RNA and nutrients, and they do not yet reproduce reliably or evolve autonomously. For Adamala, the practical question is less where life begins than whether cellular functions can be assembled into a controllable platform for making useful molecules.

Eye on AIJul 21, 202611 min read