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Cortex-like cytoskeleton, a thin layer of cross-linked cytoplasmic proteins underlying the cell membrane, plays an essential role in modulating membrane behavior and cell surface properties. However, bottom-up construction of functional cortex-like cytoskeleton in artificial cells remains a challenge. Here, we present metal-phenolic networks as artificial cortical cytoskeletons in liposome-based artificial cells. The metal-phenolic cytoskeleton-reinforced artificial cells exhibit long-term stability, enhanced resistance to a variety of harsh environments, tunable permeability, and well-controlled morphologies. We anticipate that our stable artificial cell models will stride forward to practical applications of liposome-based microsystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which explores the mode selection mechanism in traveling and standing waves revealed by Min wave reconstituted in artificial cells. It mentions that reaction-diffusion coupling (RDc) generates spatiotemporal patterns, including two dynamic wave modes, traveling and standing waves.

The article report the construction of artificial cells that chemically communicate with mammalian cells under physiological conditions. It mentions the artificial cells respond to the presence of a small molecule in the environment by synthesizing a potent protein signal, brain-derived neurotrophic factor. It also mentions that artificial cells are a versatile chassis for the in situ synthesis and on-demand release of chemical signals that elicit desired phenotypic changes of eukaryotic cells.

A 17-year project to create a synthetic genome for yeast cells has successfully created designer versions of all yeast chromosomes and incorporated almost half of them into cells that can survive and reproduce. This achievement allows for deeper exploration of genome organization, function, and evolution. Synthetic genomes may also facilitate improvements to organisms used in industry, agriculture, and medicine. The researchers used a new approach to modify the yeast genome, simplifying its structure and making it easier to study. The project is now working on integrating the remaining chromosomes into a yeast cell and expects to debut a yeast with a fully synthetic genome in about a year. [Extracted from the article]

The article talks how artificial mouse embryos grown from stem cells in a dish could help unlock secrets of early development and infertility. The artificial embryos are providing new insights into how embryos organise themselves and grow. The team of researchers engineered the artificial embryos so the cell types fluoresced in different colours, to reveal their movements and behaviour as the embryos go through crucial changes.

This article discusses research conducted by chemical biologist Neal Devaraj at the University of California, San Diego, on the development of artificial cell mimics, which can communicate with other cells in its surroundings. The author comments on the creation of these pseudo-cells from artificial materials, equipping them with DNA that encodes for green fluorescent protein (GFP), which was then passed on to other cells.

The article reports that the synthetic biology initiative Genome Project-write (GP-write) announced plans to engineer virus-resistant cells.