World-First Working Eukaryotic Cell Made From Plastic

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."

Re:Not a cell

[cnettel]

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

No, they did not

[jw3]

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.

Re:Hmmm

[ihtoit]

no you're thinking of the nuclear membrane (or lack thereof) which is what prokaryot/eukaryot refers to. Every living thing contains DNA.

Re:Hmmm

[oodaloop]

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

Re:Not a cell

[sandertje]

This is pure semantics, but indeed, red blood cells are a bit of misnomer. Their only function is transporting oxygen. Basically they are a vesicle filled with haemoglobin. Essentially, red blood cells are as much 'cell' as platelets are. The complication that arises here is that the non-mammalian counterpart DOES have a nucleus and organelles; and as such IS a normal cell.

Re:nerdgasm

[fisted]

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