top of page

Artificial Cytoplasm and Artificial Life

mondalankur


Introduction to Cell

From our very childhood, we’ve learned in our Biology about Cell. The cell is that the basic structural, fundamental and functional unit of life. The cell consists of fundamental molecules which are required for living beings to survive. The cell is created from different cell organelles namely cytoplasm nucleus endoplasmic reticulum mitochondria Golgi bodies vacuoles lysosomes, etc. Now we all know that cell is that the main requirement of the living being. But have we considered a man-made cell or mimic of the cell? We are visiting to speak about Cytoplasm, one of all the foremost important cell organelles which aren’t living but artificial or mimicked.



Brief about Cytoplasm

In 1863, Rudolf von Kölliker, introduced the term, Cytoplasm, originally the synonym of Protoplasm. Later, it came to be referred to as the organelle, outside the nucleus bound by the cell wall. Cytoplasm could be a semi-fluid or gelatinous substance present within the cell. It performs many important functions off the cell. A cytoplasm is an actual place of most of the activities of the cell because it contains molecules and enzymes that are crucial within the breakdown of the waste. Furthermore, it also helps in metabolic activities. Cytoplasm provides shape to the cell. It fills up the cell thus enables the organelles to stay in their position. The cell, without cytoplasm, would deflate and substances won’t permeate easily from one to the opposite organelle.


History of Artificial Cytoplasm

An artificial or mimicked cell is an engineered particle or molecule that performs or mimics one or more functions of a biological cell. The concept of artificial cells was first proposed by Dr. Thomas Ming Swi Chang in 1957.



He concluded its use as follows:-

  1. Bio mimetic systems, to review and understand properties of biological cells.

  2. To research the dynamics of cells with minimal interference from cellular complexity.

  3. To explore new possible applications within the field of biological cells.


Importance of Artificial Cytoplasm

Primitive cell models macromolecular crowding of cytoplasm; which happens because very large molecules like proteins, compete for the identical space.


Macromolecules have long chains of atoms, sometimes branched and within their structures remains plenty of empty space. Once they face another large molecule, these macromolecules cannot occupy the identical area, and so, they draw inward, filling some empty space and making themselves smaller. According to many researchers, compacted macromolecules act differently than scattered molecules.


The speed of reactions of crowded macromolecules can differ highly from those of identical molecules in unlimited space. These artificial cells with artificial or mimicked cytoplasm may allow researchers to review the consequences of macromolecular crowding in an exceedingly controlled way.


The researchers also are looking forward to the consequences of polarization and other forms of compounds on these heterogeneous cells. Keating, one of the researchers said,One of the items we are looking into is how ions behave within the model cells, we would like to require advantage of the effect common ions like potassium and magnesium, which may wear protein and macromolecule structures and performance.”


Now these polymers containing primitive artificial or mimicked cells may offer a really simple experimental system for investigating what goes on within the rather more complex environment of biological cells.


Whether Artificial Cytoplasm is safe or not?

One cannot surely say that artificial cytoplasm is unsafe. Rather, artificial cell or mimicked cell is unquestionably not unsafe. But that’s true up to a specific extent. The survival of an organism can not be mediated by means of artificial or mimicked cells.



But why Artificial Life is not possible?

Here could be a list of open problems presented below which are faced for the creation of Artificial Life.


A. Some probabilities of new life arise from the nonliving:-

  1. Generating a molecular proto-organism in vitro.

  2. Achieve the transition to life in man-made chemistry in silica.

  3. Determining whether fundamentally novel living organizations can exist or not.

  4. Simulating a unicellular organism over its entire lifecycle.

  5. Explaining how rules and symbols are generated from physical dynamics in the Living systems.

B. The potentials and limits of living systems:-

  1. Determining what’s inevitable within the open-ended evolution of life.

  2. Determine minimal conditions for evolutionary transitions from specific to generic response systems.

  3. Create a proper framework for synthesizing dynamical hierarchies in the slightest degree scales.

  4. Determining the predictability of evolutionary consequences of manipulating organisms and ecosystems.

  5. Developing a theory of data processing, information flow, and knowledge generation for evolving systems.


Uses of Artificial Cytoplasm

  1. Artificial Cells have a variety of uses.

  2. Successful application of hemoperfusion to treat the renal disorder.

  3. Auto suicidal or accidental poisoning.

  4. Removal of aluminum and iron.

  5. Liquid cells are used as blood substitutes.

  6. The immense implication in biotechnology and gene therapy.



Limitations

One major limitation of artificial cells built so far is their inability to survive for long periods of your time. Even the only unicellular organisms are extremely complex. Also, syntheses of living artificial cells from inanimate components seem very daunting. Here is another conclusion why artificially build life is not possible


Future

Recent progress within the formulation of artificial cells starting from simple protocells and artificial cells to cell-mimic particles suggests that the development of living life is not an unrealistic goal. Treatment of varied diseases together with unrealistic cures will certainly be a milestone of synthetic biology.


Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Thanks for submitting!

  • LinkedIn
  • White Facebook Icon

© 2021 by Present Past and Future

Internship

An internship is a temporary job role offered to students for professional learning experience which offers meaningful, practical work related experience to students’ fields or career interests.

An internship offers a student opportunity for career exploration, increase in experience, development in career front and learning new skills.

 

Benefits of Doing Internship

Doing an internship is very much beneficial for a student’s career front.

  1. Job Experience

In recent times, job listing often requires minimum job experience. If a student entering a workforce for the first time, he/she may not have such experience. An internship is a perfect way to fill up that gap. A valuable exposure to a company will give a first hand experience where a student can take part in meetings and perform assigned works.

  1. Research Experience

In the scientific fields, an internship may offer a student to assist with research in a laboratory. A student can find out his/her skills that had been learnt in the academic years in practical settings and can contribute to the research. Many permanent research jobs require such kind of post education training. Moreover, this kind of internship also helps in deciding what kind of laboratory is preferable and favourable for a student.

  1. Access to a variety of tasks and departments

An internship always enables exposure to people of various departments and jobs. From helping a senior management to sit for meetings, internship offers a student to observe daily functions in an office. Thus, it helps a student to decide what kind of job would be preferable.

  1. Mentorship

The most valuable mentor relationship begins with a personal connection which enhances the experience of both mentor and mentee. Being an intern may allow to meet a potential mentor naturally and develop a good relationship that actually offers proper guidance in career path.

  1. Create professional network

Internship is a practical way for the expansion of job network. The professionals met during internship might turn into most valuable connection that will show interest, enthusiasm and willingness for recruitments.

  1. Better Resume

The valuable job experiences enable to fill the resume with honesty and specificity. Not only the experiences of the duties and projects of the internship are added, but also the objective of seeking a permanent position can be more clearly described.

  1. Securing good recommendations and references

The supervisors or mentors of an internship can be valuable references for an intern while pursuing a full time job. Pro-activeness, Positive mind and hard work will pay for open positions.

  1. Transition to a permanent job

Positive experiences acquired from an internship might help in getting hired for a permanent position in a company.

  1. Preliminary employment training

Internship acts as preliminary employment training and HR personnel or the manager can observe an intern in various situations to determine if the intern may be a valuable addition to the team.

  1. Build Confidence

Taking on an internship helps an intern to learn about the work environment. Moreover, one can have a much clearer idea of his/her strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Most importantly, an intern can have hands-on experience which gives far more confidence when it comes to job seeking and interviews.

Conclusion

 

To sum up, internships always play a very important role in shaping one’s career. They give a real exposure to working environments and help to develop the necessary skills required to stand out in a saturated job market.

Thus whether the internship is paid or non-paid don’t worry about that. Your professional experience (essential for fresher job seeker) and growth will be count from the first day of internship.

bottom of page