Dr. Katarzyna Adamala of the University of Minnesota describes what synthetic cells are and how they can teach us the fundamental principles of life.
By looking at the fundamental molecules of (RNA, DNA and Proteins) biologists are certain that life on Earth evolved only once. All biological systems (including viruses that are technically non-living) on our planet are rooted in the same fundamental framework. This framework appears extremely complex and we have yet to fully understand the processes inside living cells. One way of understanding complex systems is to break them down into simpler parts. This is the principle of engineering the synthetic cell: to use our current knowledge of biology for building a cell with the least amount of parts and complexity. These minimalistic synthetic cells can teach us about the basic principles of life and evolution, and they hold potential for a range of applications including biomaterials and drug development. Dr. Adamala narrates an introduction to this exciting field.
Dr. Adamala is a synthetic biologist and a McKnight Land-Grant Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include astrobiology, synthetic cell engineering and biocomputing. Adamala is a co-founder and steering group member of the international Build-a-Cell Initiative, which seeks to broaden the impact of synthetic cell engineering. Find more information on Adamala’s lab at:
Credits:
Brittany Anderton (iBiology): Producer
Eric Kornblum (iBiology): Videographer and Editor
Kate Adamala (UMN): Graphics and Narration
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