University of Minnesota Engineers First Synthetic Cell Capable of Self‑Replication

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have created a synthetic cell, named SpudCell, that can feed, grow, copy its genetic material and divide over multiple generations. The cell is not a genetically modified bacterium, but shows that basic mechanisms of life can be rebuilt from chemical components.

At around the same time, a team in Gothenburg reported optical micromachines smaller than a human cell—microscopic gears that rotate and transmit motion using a light beam without cables or electric motors. In Cambridge, Professor Mihaela van der Schaar and an international consortium, including pharma firms GSK, AstraZeneca, Sanofi and Takeda, outlined a roadmap for applying causal inference and digital twins to develop new therapies. Together the work illustrates the convergence of synthetic biology, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence often referred to as the NBIC "Great Convergence" of the 21st century.