[Link] Synthetic Cells: Function Through Mutation

Press Release No. 107/202613 October 2026

        Just a few genetic changes transform simple RNA droplets into cell-like structures that can move and take up cargo
  
        A small number of random genetic mutations cause simple RNA droplets to transform into cell-like structures. In this process, they form cavities, can move and are able to take up cargo. This has been demonstrated through research using nanostructures based on ribonucleic acid led by Prof. Dr. Kerstin Göpfrich at the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH) in cooperation with experts from the German Cancer Research Center and the University of Augsburg. Just a few molecular changes are enough to trigger these complex processes in very simple synthetic cells – a...