Thursday, May 29, 2008 | Reason : Evolution and Biology | print version

Synthetic Copycat Of Living Cell Underway: Life, But Not As We Know It?

by Science Daily

Thanks to SPS for the link.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528102914.htm

Synthetic Copycat Of Living Cell Underway: Life, But Not As We Know It?

Researchers have used polymers to construct capsule-like structures that have properties mimicking the surfaces of a real cell. (Credit: iStockphoto/Sebastian Kaulitzki)

ScienceDaily (May 29, 2008) — Researchers at The University of Nottingham have taken some important first steps to creating a synthetic copycat of a living cell, a leading science journal reports.

Dr Cameron Alexander and PhD student George Pasparakis in the University's School of Pharmacy have used polymers — long-chain molecules — to construct capsule-like structures that have properties mimicking the surfaces of a real cell.

In the new work, they show how in the laboratory they have been able to encourage the capsules to 'talk' to natural bacteria cells and transfer molecular information.

The breakthrough could have a number of potential medical uses. Among them could be the development of new targeted drug delivery systems, where the capsules would be used to carry drug molecules to attack specific diseased cells in the body, while leaving healthy cells intact, thereby reducing the number of side affects that can be associated with treatments for life-threatening illnesses such as cancer.

The technology could also be used as an anti-microbial agent, allowing doctors to destroy harmful bacteria, without attacking other health-promoting bacteria in the body, which could offer a new weapon in the fight against superbugs.

Dr Cameron Alexander said: "These are very primitive steps in the lab, and still a long way from a true synthetic counterpart to a biological cell, but we have demonstrated that we can transfer certain molecules from inside the synthetic capsule to the bacteria when they are in physical contact, which is an exciting development.

"It's extremely early stages, but it's a move closer to the big experiment when we can one day ask whether a natural cell can think a synthetic cell is one of its own."

The work has been funded through the IDEAS Factory programme run by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which aims to promote blue sky, curiosity-led research. It comes ahead of the launch of one of the UK's first research networks into synthetic biology, which is led by Nottingham computer scientists and pharmacists with chemists at Oxford and Glasgow universities. The network, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the EPSRC Life Sciences Interface Programme, involves collaboration across six centres and includes scientific and ethics experts in the emerging field of synthetic biology.

Journal reference:

1. George Pasparakis, Cameron Alexander. Sweet-talking Double Hydrophilic Block Copolymer Vesicles. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Published Online: 26 May 2008 DOI: 10.1002/anie.200801098

Adapted from materials provided by University of Nottingham.

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1. Comment #186173 by mordacious1 on May 29, 2008 at 8:08 pm

Uh oh. Synthetic biology. This ain't gonna make the xians happy.

It's the devil's work.

Other Comments by mordacious1

2. Comment #186174 by dragonfirematrix on May 29, 2008 at 8:09 pm

This is fasinating news. Science is moving very fast. I love the idea (to quote the article) of "aims to promote blue sky, curiosity-led research."

Science is learning so much. I am anxious to hear the news the day science creates life.

I often imagine how far more advanced humanity would be if the money spent (for example) on Abrahamic hate, wars, and oppression was directed instead to science. I venture to say we would be thousands of years ahead of where we are now.

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3. Comment #186178 by Geodesic17 on May 29, 2008 at 8:22 pm

One step closer to a race of Cylons...

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4. Comment #186182 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 8:44 pm

This is awesome. I know that [insulting word for theists] will go on about the terrorist uses for this: bio weapons and such. But there is true life saving potential here. I am very excited. Wow, just wow.

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5. Comment #186185 by Null-T on May 29, 2008 at 9:03 pm

So when synthetic life is finally created, will humans create a book of holy texts for it?

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6. Comment #186188 by HourglassMemory on May 29, 2008 at 9:06 pm

Step by step, we get closer to creating a complete synthetic life form.

About bio weapons, I bet creating a new being isn't an easy task. And you have to do it in group I would presume.
For this sort of bio terrorism you'd have to have acess to top scientific facilities, usually replete with people who are not particularly religious. You'd have to work with people who wouldn't be against you enginneering a living being that would be harmful to ALL human beings.
Try to engineer a being who only harms infidels... Yeah...Nature works like that all the time.
And on top of that, you have to put in your mind that you're doing the work of god by actually manipulating his creation in a way that for most fundamentalists, goes too far.
Craig Venter is involved in this sort of thing. Do you think he'd allow a believer to go that insane when he could do something about it?

I think it's more likely that bio engeneering will create ways to solve and protect populations from bioterrorism, than actually be part of it.

Of course we could create a synthetic life form and the thing could accidentally spread and mutate and kill living beings like never seen on this planet. But that's not terrorism, that's clumsiness.

But the people who will create it, some day, won't be stupid and overlook that.
Could terrorists have access to these things? Sure, but would they have the brains? And the mentality to do it?
It's not like they could take hostages of the scientists and remain there for weeks as the being got constructed.

All we need to worry about is to have these facilities well protected.

Other Comments by HourglassMemory

7. Comment #186199 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 10:29 pm

HourglassMemory,

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.

Could terrorists creat bio-weapons with this technology? I agree, sure, but not likely enough to cause concern. But my very real fear is the other question: Can stupid people rally and get this technology banned from further study by propagating the fear of terrorism? Some people think of movies, such as "I Am Legend" as having a true and prophetic message, as opposed to a thought inspiring but overall entertaining message. Stupid, or innocently ignorant people can stop the research, which is probably worse than terrorists using the research. That is my fear.

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8. Comment #186209 by Sh!fty on May 29, 2008 at 11:18 pm

Comment by dragonfirematrix:

Science is learning so much. I am anxious to hear the news the day science creates life.

Interesting, that made me think of Dawkins' phrase : "Creative intelligences, being evolved, necessarily arrive late in the universe, and therefore cannot be responsible for designing it." What would this life think if it evolves and asks about its creation? I know he doesn't mean that but still.

Comment by dragonfirematrix

I often imagine how far more advanced humanity would be if the money spent (for example) on Abrahamic hate, wars, and oppression was directed instead to science. I venture to say we would be thousands of years ahead of where we are now.

**nods**

Other Comments by Sh!fty

9. Comment #186214 by Diacanu on May 29, 2008 at 11:42 pm

mordacious1-

Uh oh. Synthetic biology. This ain't gonna make the xians happy.

Then it's literally impossible to make xians happy, because tissue grafts from synthetic cells would be the surefire showstopper to the ethical debate over stemcells.

So um...if they object um....fuck 'em.
*Shrug*
People who can't be apeased need to be ignored.

Other Comments by Diacanu

10. Comment #186218 by ACJames on May 29, 2008 at 11:58 pm

They'll hate it until it saves their bodily lives.

Kinda like how they publicly dismiss science and medicine, but when its serious, they come home to their mama's.

Science is the only way to answer a prayer.

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11. Comment #186236 by LaTomate on May 30, 2008 at 2:19 am

Comment #186209 by Sh!fty on May 29, 2008 at 11:18 pm

Interesting, that made me think of Dawkins' phrase : "Creative intelligences, being evolved, necessarily arrive late in the universe, and therefore cannot be responsible for designing it." What would this life think if it evolves and asks about its creation? I know he doesn't mean that but still.

I think that's what Prof. Dawkins meant when he said that perhaps Earth had been seeded by aliens but that that doesn't explain everything, that we would need an explanation for them too. The Creationists made fun of him for that - "what he refuses God but accepts aliens!?!" As usual they have no clue :/

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12. Comment #186238 by Corylus on May 30, 2008 at 2:22 am

A short article, but I am sure one that would not exist without a huge amount of work and study.

Congrats to all involved.

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13. Comment #186251 by phil rimmer on May 30, 2008 at 2:43 am

This is excellent news and very encouraging in our endless quest to reduce harm to others.

My taxes paid for this. Yay!

(OK 30 million others contributed as well.)

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14. Comment #186259 by GBile on May 30, 2008 at 2:56 am

The minimum what these creatures should be obliged to do is to bow 5 times a day in the direction of Nottingham and to sing songs of praise for the mighty Cameron on sundays. Otherwise, to hell with them.

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15. Comment #186270 by j.mills on May 30, 2008 at 3:17 am

Honestly, aren't there enough cells in the world already? Skin cells, brain cells, stem cells, sex sells, terrorist cells, death sells, Microsoft Excels, selsa dip?

It's really just a capsule, a shell. Doesn't say what scale the picture is. Blue hot dogs could be very marketable. "Synthetic cell shell sells!"

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16. Comment #186273 by bamboospitfire on May 30, 2008 at 3:22 am

I don't think polymer vesicles are anything new. Tony Ryan at Sheffield university has been working on this stuff for years.

http://www.shef.ac.uk/chemistry/staff/profiles/ryan.html

I attended a lecture at the Royal Institution on the very subject in March this year. As far as I can see, Ryan has already cracked the vesicle issue, including DNA delivery into cell nuclei, and has also found a way of propelling nano vesicles across solution gradients.

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17. Comment #186287 by ThoughtsonCommonToad on May 30, 2008 at 4:20 am

Who needs sex when you can steal DNA - Reuters

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18. Comment #186289 by HitbLade on May 30, 2008 at 4:33 am

Can I create a lifeform too? I wanna be a GOD!

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19. Comment #186291 by KRKBAB on May 30, 2008 at 4:38 am

Those "capsule like structures" look too clean and perfect. I want to see some dirt and fuzz on 'em. Then I'll get excited. Hey KING OF NH- I live in NEW England (Maine), not England, so does the NH stand for what I think it does, or is it something like Notting- Ham? or something like New Hinklebottomshire?

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20. Comment #186304 by Johnny O on May 30, 2008 at 5:33 am

Hey KING OF NH- I live in NEW England (Maine), not England, so does the NH stand for what I think it does, or is it something like Notting- Ham? or something like New Hinklebottomshire?

Have you ever visited New Hinklebottomshire? There's nothing like a warm pint of Old Toby's Scrote down at the Flange and Mirkin...

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21. Comment #186308 by DamnDirtyApe on May 30, 2008 at 5:58 am

All that nonsense about not allowing intelligent design in universities. This work IS intelligent design. After all, those guys used their intelligence to design it :D

How'd you like them apples Stein!

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22. Comment #186314 by rod-the-farmer on May 30, 2008 at 6:18 am

Good point, DamnDirtyApe

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23. Comment #186475 by Silvia on May 30, 2008 at 10:29 am

I've been lurking here for almost one year, but now I really felt I should register and tell you how happy Brasilian people are that the Supreme Court of our country decided that stem cell research is allowed by Constitution with no restrictions, against the lobby of the Roman catholic Church. Even conservative papers and media were favorable to science in this case and the letters sent to papers by readers on that matter are mostly congratulatory.

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24. Comment #186486 by dloubet on May 30, 2008 at 10:54 am

Hey! You said Cylon as if it's a BAD thing.

Where's my perfect robot body?

And my flying car?

Dammit.

Other Comments by dloubet

25. Comment #186491 by Diacanu on May 30, 2008 at 11:03 am

KRKBAB-

Those "capsule like structures" look too clean and perfect.

I dunno, maybe that's good.
Maybe the blue cheese doodles will do a better job when they inherit the earth.

Oh and welcome, fellow Mainuh.
;)

Other Comments by Diacanu

26. Comment #186593 by squinky on May 30, 2008 at 7:36 pm

Sounds like more hype than science.

The breakthrough could have a number of potential medical uses. Among them could be the development of new targeted drug delivery systems, where the capsules would be used to carry drug molecules to attack specific diseased cells in the body, while leaving healthy cells intact, thereby reducing the number of side affects that can be associated with treatments for life-threatening illnesses such as cancer. The technology could also be used as an anti-microbial agent, allowing doctors to destroy harmful bacteria, without attacking other health-promoting bacteria in the body, which could offer a new weapon in the fight against superbugs.

Sigh! Whatever polymer-fantasy-molecular transfer man

Other Comments by squinky

27. Comment #187340 by bamboospitfire on June 2, 2008 at 2:13 am

squinky - as I mentioned above, Tony Ryan has already used smart polymer vesicles to deliver DNA coding directly into cell nuclei and I understand he has won an OBE for his polymer work. It's certainly not fantasy, although the method by which the vesicles transport DNA strands through cell membranes and into the nuclei (based on the polymer's reaction to variations in pH) is so damn clever it almost seems too good to be true.

Here are some other useful links.

http://www.cbte.group.shef.ac.uk/research/mat9.html

http://www.shef.ac.uk/materials/staff/gbattaglia.html

Other Comments by bamboospitfire