How Scientists Built Timekeeping Cells from Scratch

Swift Summary

• Researchers at UC Merced successfully created artificial cells that mimic the 24-hour circadian rhythms observed in living organisms.
• Their study,published in Nature Communications,focused on reconstructing biological clocks using simplified vesicles loaded with clock proteins,one of which was tagged with a fluorescent marker.
• The artificial cells displayed a rhythmic glow for four days but lost rhythm when protein concentration decreased or vesicle size was reduced.
• A computational model revealed robust timekeeping requires high concentrations of clock proteins adn suggested that gene-regulation components primarily synchronize populations, not individual clocks.
• Clock proteins adhering to vesicle walls indicated the necessity for higher total protein counts to maintain accurate function.
• Lead researchers included Professors Anand Bala Subramaniam and Andy LiWang alongside first author Alexander Zhang Tu Li. Their work has implications for studying biological timekeeping using synthetic systems.
• Funding came from NSF CAREER awards, NIH grants, and the Army Research Office.

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Indian Opinion Analysis
This breakthrough in synthetic biology showcases how precise recreations of natural mechanisms can deepen scientific understanding of complex biological processes like circadian rhythms.India’s growing investment in bioengineering research could benefit by adopting simplified models showcased here to explore critical health issues related to sleep disorders or metabolism regulation at a molecular level.

Moreover, India’s diverse population-prone to variations in lifestyle-induced metabolic disorders-can find applications for such studies domestically through cost-effective synthetic tools like those developed at UC Merced. Furthermore, it underscores collaboration as an enabling force when interdisciplinary expertise is aligned with advanced technological methodologies.

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