The origin of new life

The Synthetic Life

Nishad Gosavi
Nov 6 · 3 min read

The life as we know it now is made up of a vast number of molecules all formed spontaneously during the big bang.(Okay not all, but some formed over a duration of time, fine !). The point i want to make is that all these molecules are still there because of the preference given by nature. They come together to form supramolecular structures and interact with each other which in turn gives rise to us.

What i am talking about is to hypothesize and eventually create a set of another building blocks of molecules which are capable of forming self-sustaining systems like the “CELLS” . Is such thing even possible ?

There are successful attempts to make modified DNA and RNA molecules to prevent them from degradation. But this is not even close to what i am talking about. How cool it would be if we were capable of generating a set of Chemical entities (Lets call them SYNTHONS).

The main question arises, why i am i even thinking of this, or how did i arrived at this. Well, i was pondering over the banal plastic problem and a train of thoughts led me to the fact that the enzymes which are currently used on a large scale to generate value products, are sooo fickle. Like, they are damn sensitive and work in a very limited range of temperature, pH and pressures. Of course there are extremophiles but there isn’t a one stop solution for all the parameters.

So, why not create “Enzyme mimicking SYNTHONS” (Synthozymes). These will be robust and directed towards a particular functionality. They will be able to withstand a relatively larger range of parameters like pressure, temperature, pH etc. Isn’t this a possible alternative to the current processes. (Don’t be practical, this is just a hypothesis, remember !). There are number of questions that arises if practicality is considered. Read this as an idea. That’s it.

So, moving ahead. Taking the properties of these Synthetic enzymes, we can develop robust processes, enhance the yield of value products. Moving more further, one can develop functionalized Synthozymes. These will have special functions like breaking the C-C bond or the C-F bond. Such Synthozymes can be of great value as they can provide a solution to the Plastic problem and also the non-biodegradable substances.

Moving on, how will one produce such Synthozymes ?

Here comes the “SynCell”. The highly functionalized and robust Synthetic Cell. This cell will either mimick the biological cell’s processes but with completely different synthons or will carry out a completely different process of its own to synthesize the Synthozymes. So this leaves us with the degradability issue of the SynCell. Basically they will be designed to be non — biodegradable.

If one isn’t satisfied with this, we can further move on by creating a multicellular synthetic organism like a amoeba or a fungi which feeds on the waste and in turn are designed for the purpose of eradicating waste. Such Synthetic organisms can be helpful in fighting the pollution problem.

You see, the problem with the conventional approach in dealing with the waste is that we are trying to mimic nature every fucking single time. The nature has made these biomolecules so that they could be degraded. If you have created something and you want it not to degrade with time, why in this universe would you try to mimic nature and use the natural enzymes to get rid of the plastic problem.

One more thing, looking at the nature’s adaptability to degrade things. It may be possible that some species of microbes may develop the ability to degrade the plastic and use it as a food source. But is it reliable, will that enzyme be functional upto its maximum potential when it is poured into a 1000 litre fermenter. The thing is, nature has designed environments to carry out such tasks, it has its own way to do it. Its environment is the cell. Therefore mimicking nature isn’t the REAL option. Why don’t we create our own cells niggas ? Why ?

Well, one way to do that can be by Synthozymes. husshhhh. but you never know whether such entites will be built before the nature itself destroys us.

I would like to hear some more approaches from you guys. Thanks for reading till the end :)

Written by

I am a Cell Enthusiast. I write about my perspectives about the behavior of cells, their functioning and ways to exploit them for the betterment of mankind.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade