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The engineering of artificial cells requires a reconfigurable cytoskeleton that can organize at distinct locations and dynamically modulate its structural and mechanical properties. This study combines peptide self-assembly with DNA programmability to realize a synthetic cytoskeleton in droplets showing that programmable peptide–DNA nanotechnology approach is a powerful platform towards the construction of functional, fully artificial cells.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-024-01509-w (open access)

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[-] beefbot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 year ago

I know no microscopic biology but I imagine other natural cells encountering such a cell and recoiling from it the same way dogs who sniff a robot dog and sense nothing are legit highly freaked out 😂

[-] teft@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Uncanny valley but for cells.

[-] witty_username@feddit.nl 0 points 1 year ago

Didn't Venter's lab do something like this already 10 ish years ago?

[-] meyotch@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago

Not quite. I think you may be referring to their genome transplant. They used a natural cell and completely replaced the original genome with synthesized DNA. Whereas this project did not rely on existing cellular machinery.

this post was submitted on 04 May 2024
70 points (100.0% liked)

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