In the movie Jurassic Park, scientist Dr. Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum) famously said about the dinosaurs, "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

And honestly, after reading the story here, I sort of felt the same way. Is this something that we really needed to create, because I have seen how this movie ends!

The “big deal” here is that scientists claim that for the first time in history they have constructed a synthetic cell that feeds, grows, and replicates — just like a natural one — out of non-living chemical components.

The team from the University of Minnesota says their “SpudCell” is the “first synthetic cell with a complete cell cycle,” and can “grow, replicate its genome, divide, and undergo selection and competition across multiple generations.”

The research, which is being hailed as a major breakthrough, could usher in a new biotech era defined by synthetic organisms that can be grown from scratch and programmed to complete specific functions. It’s a futuristic approach that could open many doors for our efforts to solve a wide variety of human problems, from fighting cancer to capturing carbon.

It could also challenge our preconceived notions of what’s considered “life,” while exploring the essential functions of a living cell.

As detailed in a preprint paper, SpudCell is made up of anywhere from 150 to 200 molecules. While it can feed, grow and replicate across roughly five generations, it’s orders of magnitude simpler than a natural cell, which can hold billions of molecules.

Team lead and University of Minnesota synthetic biologist Kate Adamala called the construct an “incredibly wimpy organism that right now basically does nothing other than to eat and occasionally make a daughter cell.”

To get it to replicate once every 12 hours or so, scientists have to feed it externally while holding it at 86 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s a lot slower than natural bacteria, like E. coli, which divides every 30 minutes. It also can’t produce its own proteins, meaning that scientists have to feed it regularly.

Put simply, SpudCell is far from self-sufficient.

But whether SpudCell actually constitutes what we refer to as “life” remains hotly debated, with experts arguing it can’t evolve on its own without the laborious care of its makers.

Others were more open to the idea that the researchers had made a major step towards creating synthetic life.