In what can only be described as a Frankenstein’s monster of molecular biology, researchers at the University of Minnesota have created an artificial cell that can feed, grow, and divide - at least for five generations before everything falls apart. The work, led by Kate Adamala and not yet peer-reviewed, combines bits of viruses and purified proteins to mimic the basic functions of life. The so-called "SpudCell" uses DNA from a virus that infects bacteria, a protein-making system from another virus, and a pore protein that lets small molecules drift in and out. For larger molecules - like the complex protein factories needed to make more proteins - the SpudCell must literally eat membrane-wrapped food packets that fuse with its own membrane. Division is achieved either by forcing cells through a wire grid or by chemically inducing pore proteins to clump, causing random budding. The genome, spread across seven circular DNA molecules, gets distributed randomly to offspring, so after five generations most cells are missing at least one piece. Still, natural selection works: tweaking the pore protein gene made some SpudCells grow faster, and their frequency increased over generations. "All models are wrong, but some are useful," the researchers note - a truism that applies here, as this system is far from a primitive cell but might help answer questions about life’s origins.