14 June 2024
Kate Adamala
College of Biological Sciences
University of Minnesota
All of modern biology has been done on a sample size of one — that of modern, terrestrial life. All of bioengineering is, so far, limited to modifying existing complex cells, all coming from one lineage. To call ourselves bioengineers, we need to learn how to engineer biology on the most fundamental level, making cells from chemical building blocks. If we can engineer a cell from elemental components, we will also be able to modify those components, exploring chemistries that modern life is not using, and interrogating the fundamental processes of biochemistry. My lab is engineering synthetic cells, both from natural and non-canonical building blocks, with the goals of understanding natural biology, making better drugs and biomanufacturing tools, and because nobody ever made life from scratch.
I would like to have an interactive conversation with the audience, working towards a consensus list of features, components, and functions that would make a chemical system worthy of being called alive. We'll also explore alternative designs and chemistries, to probe possibilities of expanding the chassis of life.