Lab-Built Droplet Signals Growth and Division, Nudging Synthetic Life Forward
University of Minnesota synthetic biologist Kate Adamala and team created SpudCell, a lab-made droplet of 150–200 molecules carrying a 36-gene, 90,000-base-pair genome that can feed, grow, copy DNA, and divide about every 12 hours at 30°C. However ribosomes degrade over time and only about 30% of instances retain the full genome after five divisions, and the system is not yet a living cell. The work led to Biotic, a new initiative with $10 million in seed funding to advance synthetic cell development, with potential future applications in cancer therapies, carbon capture, and chemical manufacturing.