To understand how life works, synthetic biology aims to design and build cells, with current efforts focusing on genes, vesicles, and biochemical pathways. However, higher-level phenomena, such as metabolism and evolution, remain difficult to engineer. In their new article, Zhanar Abil from the Department of Biology, and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and NASA Ames Research Center argue that synthetic life could be realized through the cell-free integration of metabolic and evolutionary processes.
Below is the link to the article:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44222-024-00267-1