From Lab to Life: Did Scientists Create Life?

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Can scientists create life?   SHOULD THEY???   And, what IS life anyway?

A fascinating report by K.R. Callaway, New York Times, July 1, describes research at a lab at the University of Minnesota:  The goal: create life.

“SpudCell is a synthetic cell made by scientists at the University of Minnesota. It was created in a lab from lifeless chemicals but can perform most of the same functions as living cells. It eats, grows and reproduces, passing along its genetic material to future generations.

“Although it’s not the first synthetic cell ever created, SpudCell is the first to complete a full life cycle — from birth to division into next-generation cells — after having been created from the “bottom up” using laboratory chemicals. It’s a pared down version of a living cell structure, revealing the basic genetic and structural components necessary for the functions of life.

“So, is it alive?

“No. Or maybe! The researchers behind SpudCell do not claim to have created life, though they note that there is “no single agreed definition” of life and that their cell-like system acts similarly to living cells.  Quote:  ‘SpudCell performs the behaviors often used to tell the living from the inert — it feeds, grows, replicates its genome, divides and undergoes selection — yet it is far simpler than any natural cell and was assembled, part by part, by hand,’ the project researchers wrote in a statement.”

SpudCell is not fully alive.  “Unlike most natural cells, SpudCell is not self-sufficient. Because it can’t build its own ribosomes — the parts of the cell responsible for building new proteins — scientists have to feed it crucial proteins and enzymes, and each lineage lasts only five to 10 generations.

“SpudCell’s genome is also smaller than most living cells. It contains just 90,000 base pairs, compared with humans’ 3 billion, and this genetic information is split across seven DNA molecules, instead of being consolidated into one. This fragmentation means that important genetic material isn’t always passed in full to the next generation.”

Why are scientists doing this?  Are they trying to usurp the role of Divine Providence?

“Synthetic cells help researchers fully understand the essential functions of a living cell — what is and isn’t needed for life. Advances in understanding the connections and mechanisms of life could, in turn, aid medical research, space exploration and many other areas of study.”

I think we are both close to creating life – and a long way away from it.  The key to life is the ribosome, the little factory that manufactures proteins, and those proteins are vital. SpudCell has no ribosome.

As a person of religious faith, I find it insightful, that after scientists have tried for over a century to ‘create life’,  using every scrap of modern technology, we are still millions of light years away from succeeding to create life.  Somehow, life emerged, in its full complexity, in a batch of chemicals in a warm sea.  Did evolution, and a series of happy accidents, create the miracle that is the human cell, with protein factories, vast complex DNA, an energy machine (mitochondria),  and more?   And will scientists some day manage to recreate it?

A round of applause to the head of the lab, Kate Adamala, born in Poland and educated in the US, for her daring pathbreaking research.  If she can help us understand the creation of life, perhaps we can solve some key problems related to cell growth and division.  There is nothing irreligious about trying to understand our world – the opposite is true, we are (I believe) commanded to do so!

Stay tuned.