Construir una célula desde cero es uno de los grandes desafíos de la biología, y entender qué componentes mínimos necesita la vida para existir podría sentar las bases de una nueva generación de herramientas en biotecnología.

Un equipo de la Universidad de Minnesota, en los Estados Unidos, acaba de dar el paso más cercano para alcanzar ese objetivo: construyó la célula sintética más completa de la historia, una gotita microscópica rodeada por una membrana grasa que, por primera vez, come, crece y logra dividirse con instrucciones escritas en su propio ADN.

El trabajo, de 190 páginas, fue rechazado por la revista Cell y circula como preprint sin revisión por pares. El equipo planea enviarlo pronto a otra publicación científica.

Otros equipos habían conseguido antes que gotitas similares fabricaran proteínas o se dividieran, pero no habían combinado esas funciones a partir del propio genoma.

“Nunca habían sido capaces de alimentarse y dividirse basándose en su genoma”, dijo la científica que lideró el equipo y bióloga sintética Kate Adamala al explicar qué distingue a su “SpudCell” de todos los intentos anteriores.

El nombre surgió casi por accidente. Sus colegas querían bautizar la creación con el apellido de la investigadora, y ella los frenó: “Llámenla algo que no sea mi nombre, llámenla papa por lo que me importa”.

SpudCell quedó finalmente: “spud” significa papa en inglés, y la similitud sonora con Sputnik —el primer satélite espacial soviético— fue bienvenida por Adamala.

Como el Sputnik en su momento, ella ve en su creación un primer paso, no una meta cumplida. Estos son los cinco aspectos del estudio que vale la pena entender para dimensionar qué se logró y qué falta:

La SpudCell no tiene un metabolismo complejo. Para nutrirse, su genoma codifica una proteína que aparece en la superficie de la gotita y actúa como punto de anclaje para liposomas más pequeños (que son bolsitas cargadas con enzimas, ribosomas y nutrientes) que se fusionan con ella.

Es un mecanismo de alimentación escrito directamente en el ADN de la célula, no impuesto desde afuera. Eso es lo que la distingue de sistemas anteriores: el proceso de alimentación está regulado desde el genoma, lo que acopla la actividad metabólica al crecimiento de la célula.

La división celular es el punto más débil del sistema. El genoma de la SpudCell codifica un mecanismo que usa proteínas de superficie para generar repulsión entre moléculas y partir la gotita en dos. Funciona, pero con poca eficiencia.

En los experimentos más controlados, los científicos dividieron las células mecánicamente, al empujarlas por una membrana con microporos, para garantizar resultados. Tras cinco ciclos de división, solo el 30% de las células hijas heredó el genoma completo. Es una limitación concreta que el equipo reconoce sin rodeos.

El equipo insertó una mutación en algunas SpudCells que las hacía producir más proteína de superficie y, por tanto, comer más rápido. Esas células crecieron más y generaron más descendencia. Después de cinco generaciones, el 60% de los genomas llevaba la mutación ventajosa.

Eso se parece a la selección natural, pero no lo es. La mutación fue insertada a propósito por los investigadores y la división fue mecánica, no espontánea. No hubo evolución real, según aclaró la revista Science.

Expertos que no han estado dentro del equipo de Adamala valoraron el trabajo con entusiasmo, pero con matices.

Víctor de Lorenzo, profesor de investigación del CSIC en el Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, fue directo. “El trabajo me parece técnicamente sólido y un avance tecnológico importante, pero para nada es creación de vida en el laboratorio”, dijo a SMC España.

Mientras que el doctor Juli Peretó, catedrático de Bioquímica en la Universidad de Valencia, lo calificó de “espectacular dentro de la estrategia de la biología sintética”, aunque subrayó que no se diseña una célula de cero, sino que se construye a partir de componentes mínimos tomados de otras células.

La analogía que usa la propia Adamala es la del primer vuelo de los hermanos Wright: torpe, corto, lleno de limitaciones, pero real y documentado.

“Es ineficiente, pero sabes exactamente cómo está construida”, dijo. Eso es lo que hace al sistema valioso: cada componente es conocido, cada concentración está medida, y eso permite mejorarlo de forma sistemática.

Drew Endy, biólogo sintético de la Universidad de Stanford, quedó tan convencido tras ver los resultados que cofundó junto a Adamala una institución de investigación de beneficio público llamada Biotic, con el objetivo de coordinar grupos de investigación dispersos.

La organización cuenta con financiamiento inicial de alrededor de 10 millones de dólares y prevé distribuir la mayor parte como subsidios para investigación en septiembre.

Hoy se sabe que la SpudCell no es vida. Pero sí es el sistema sintético más completo construido hasta ahora desde componentes no vivos, y el primero en combinar alimentación, crecimiento, división y selección en un único sistema con un genoma completamente documentado. Para Adamala, es “la chispa”.

Consultada por Infobae, la científica Larisa Cybulski, investigadora en bioquímica y biología molecular del Conicet en la Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas de la Universidad Nacional de Rosario, en Argentina, dijo tras leer el estudio: “Lo que más impresiona de este trabajo es la enorme cantidad de conocimiento y tecnologías que logra integrar en un único sistema”.

Esta célula es, de alguna manera, un “Frankenstein molecular” -opinó-. Es una construcción obtenida mediante el ensamblaje racional de herramientas provenientes de la biología sintética, la biología molecular y la química clic».

Todavía -advirtió Cybulski– “está lejos de ser un sistema independiente, ya que requiere asistencia humana constante mediante el aporte de macromoléculas complejas preformadas —como fosfolípidos, colesterol, ribosomas y ARN— e incluso intervención mecánica para dividirse».

El costo técnico y experimental de construirla y mantenerla es enorme. “Justamente ahí reside el mérito de este trabajo: es la primera vez que se sintetiza en un laboratorio un sistema que reúne varias de las propiedades que tradicionalmente asociamos con la vida, como la alimentación, el crecimiento, la reproducción y la capacidad de estar sujeto a procesos de selección y evolución”, afirmó.

Aunque todavía es temprano para anticipar sus aplicaciones o su impacto a largo plazo, “este desarrollo ofrece una plataforma sintética de enorme valor. Se trata de un sistema cuyas variables pueden definirse y controlarse casi por completo, lo que lo convierte en un modelo ideal para estudiar procesos fundamentales de la biología, ensayar fármacos, analizar el funcionamiento de proteínas de membrana o de la maquinaria de replicación e, incluso, desarrollar en el futuro biosensores o sistemas de liberación dirigida de moléculas terapéuticas”.

Su mayor aporte, sin embargo, trasciende la medicina y la industria. “Este trabajo abre una puerta completamente nueva para investigar una de las preguntas más fascinantes de la ciencia: cómo la materia organizada llega a convertirse en algo que llamamos vida”, subrayó.

A top United Nations official is once again under fire for smearing Israel by sharing a social media message originally posted by a woman facing charges of incitement to terror and expressing support of Hamas.

On June 18, U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Vanessa Frazier reposted an image of three small objects which the original poster, Sarah Wilkinson, claimed were cluster munitions «disguised as children’s toys» that Israelis had been «strategically dropping» over Lebanon. In her own post, Frazier stated, «If this is true it means that there is a deliberate, premeditated intent to kill children.»

Frazier, who has over 10,000 followers on X, has since deleted the post, but a screenshot of the original was provided to Fox News Digital.

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In response to questions about whether United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stood behind Frazier’s repost of Wilkinson’s remarks, Guterres’ spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told Fox News Digital that «the retweet was deleted a while ago and, as you know, [the] retweet in no way implies an endorsement of the person who posted the original tweet.»

Andrew Fox a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital that «it is farcical that a U.N. official should be so gullible.» 

Fox, a former British army officer who has studied and written about Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tactics, said it was «deeply telling that a U.N. official should leap to share the ancient, antisemitic blood libel that Jews kill children. This is the toxic atmosphere that nearly three years of lies have created around Israel. Any allegation against the Jewish state, no matter how outlandish, is immediately given credence. This is another nail in the coffin of the U.N. Special Representative’s credibility and reputation.»

An IDF spokesman told Fox News Digital that the «allegation is baseless and unfounded. It is fake news, and we categorically reject it.»

The original poster of the cluster munitions accusation was arrested in the United Kingdom on terror charges in 2024, according to the World Socialist Web Site. The site, as well as Al Mayadeen English, — Hezbollah’s media arm – link Wilkinson to the social media profile on X which shared the post Frazier elevated.

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U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Vanessa Frazier, pictured during her time as ambassador to Malta talking with Representatives Zhang Jun of China, Vassily Nebenzia of the Russian Federation and Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Gaza at the United Nations headquarters on March 25, 2024, in New York City.  Frazier was appointed as special representative in 2025. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

The BBC reported last week that Wilkinson will face trial in January on «two counts of encouragement of terrorism on social media, two counts of expressing an opinion or belief that was supportive of a proscribed organization, namely Hamas; and one of failing to comply with a police investigation.»

Though Wilkinson discussed her arrests and subsequent charges on her X account, she did not respond to Fox News Digital’s messages asking for comment about the charges she currently faces.

In response to questions about her removal of the X post and concerns about its original source, Frazier said that «regarding specific tweets, I understand why some of my social media activities have generated questions. Where concerns arose regarding posts, I took appropriate action. Nonetheless, the intended message is to emphasize the alarm of the Secretary-General in his Annual Report regarding the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Lebanon, a matter that raises serious humanitarian concerns due to their long-lasting impact on civilians.»

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Workers clean a street under a giant portrait of the late Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, as smoke rises from a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Frazier said that, «Ultimately, my mandate is not carried out through social media. It is carried out through the United Nations’ established monitoring and verification methodology, which applies the same standards to all parties to conflict.»

In March, JNS reported that Frazier posted that she was «deeply alarmed by reports of attacks on Iranian schools leaving a large number of casualties, mostly children.» A photograph accompanying the post showed numerous black body bags. When it became clear that the photo depicted victims of the Iranian regime’s crackdown on protesters, Frazier removed the post. She then created a new post with a similar sentiment featuring an updated picture.

On June 24, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council president raising Israel’s «grave concerns regarding conduct that appears inconsistent with the neutrality, professionalism, and impartiality expected of a senior United Nations official.»

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon speaks during a United Nations emergency security council meeting on Lebanon at the UN Headquarters in New York, on Mar. 31. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)

In his letter, a copy of which was provided to Fox News Digital, Danon said that Frazier’s social media behavior suggests «a troubling pattern of engagement with unverified, disputed, or misleading material, alongside content raising concerns about antisemitic framing and extremist rhetoric.»

Danon also raised concerns about Frazier’s «abrupt interruption of [his] remarks during a United Nations side event,» which he said was «in disregard of basic procedural norms and the respect owed to Member States.»

Reuters called this exchange between Danon and Frazier «a furious shouting match.»

Frazier told Fox News Digital that her «intervention was procedural, not political. Its purpose was to help ensure that the discussion remained consistent with the standards expected in a United Nations forum,» where discussions «are expected to be conducted in accordance with established procedures and with respect for the dignity of participants and officials.»

The June 17 release of the Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict has also raised concerns.

The United Nations flag seen at half-staff on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, to honor the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. (UNTV)

Anne Bayefsky, President of Human Rights Voices and Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, told Fox News Digital that the allegations in the report were «wild, dangerous blood libels divorced from reality.»

Bayefsky blasted the U.N.’s use of the term «verified» when describing allegations, despite a lack of description of how and through what sources those supposed verifications occurred.

She said, «It is important to recognize the direct connection between the ancient antisemitic blood libels accusing evil Jews of murdering non-Jewish children and the U.N. actors who repeat the same ugly falsehoods today. History teaches us just how dangerous these depraved lies are for Jews wherever they live.»

RAFAH, EGYPT – MARCH 23: Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, speaks during a press conference in front of the Rafah border crossing on March 23, 2024 in Rafah, Egypt. Guterres visited Rafah crossing amid renewed demands for ceasefire and aid entry to Gaza Strip. ((Photo by Ali Moustafa/Getty Images))

Frazier defended the report, saying it was «the product of a rigorous United Nations (U.N.) monitoring and verification process and reflects information reviewed at multiple levels of the U.N. system.» She said that «suggesting that the report is based on falsehoods does a disservice to all child victims, including Israeli children whose suffering is also documented in the report.»

Frazier also maintained she has «no bias against the State of Israel or against any Member States of the United Nations, and reject[s] the characterization,» saying that «as a U.N. official, accuracy, impartiality, and credibility are fundamental to my work.»

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Memorials at the site of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, on Monday, May 27, 2024. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images )

When asked by Fox News Digital if Guterres would examine Frazier’s tenure, Dujarric responded that «the Secretary-General has full confidence in Vanessa Frazier and her work.»

He defended Frazier, saying she «has not ‘vilified’ and is not ‘vilifying’ the State of Israel, or any other country for that matter. Her focus is not on any one single country but on the protection of children throughout the world. Under the mandate the Security Council has given her, she does not ‘blacklist’ Member States or other parties. The report exists to find ways to get all of the parties listed to improve their behavior, so that children can be protected in concrete ways. She has been effective in doing just that.» 

Danon said that «it comes as no surprise that Secretary-General Guterres expresses full confidence in Ms. Frazier.» He said that Frazier’s report «is a symptom of [Guterres’] tenure. Under his leadership, the United Nations has repeatedly failed to uphold the standards of impartiality it claims to represent.»

FIRST ON FOX: In the midst of a blitz of Republicans shaking their fists at the Supreme Court, one Senate Republican is warning of national security consequences for the court’s bombshell birthright citizenship decision.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., worries that the court’s 6-3 decision leaves America vulnerable to threats, particularly from China. In an interview with Fox News Digital, he explained a multistep path that lawmakers and the administration could take to tackle the issue.

«I want to get this done because I really believe that the future of our country is on the line,» Schmitt said. «We can’t have Chinese generals sending their wives to this country to give birth and going back for 18 years and coming back and being citizens. It’s insane.»

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While some lawmakers want a constitutional amendment and others are pushing legislation, Schmitt has a foot in both camps. He contended that in all, there is «a short-term, medium-term and long-term solution.»

«The short-term is executive action, the medium-term is our legislative action that we could take, and then the long-term solution is the constitutional amendment,» Schmitt said. «I think we should pursue all of those.»

The clearest shot to counter the court’s decision would be through a constitutional amendment, but legislation may be the more realistic route, he said. He’s following the breadcrumb trail left by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to do it, too.

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«Congress could — consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment — amend or otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country,» Kavanaugh wrote in the court’s decision. «But Congress has not yet done so.»

Schmitt’s legislation would clarify the language of the 14th Amendment. The court interpreted the words «subject to the jurisdiction thereof» within the text to effectively mean all children born in the U.S. are automatically granted citizenship.

His plan is to modify the language to include «not subject to a foreign power,» which he contended would return the 14th Amendment to its original intent and prevent foreign adversaries from quietly scoring citizenship.

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DF-17 Dongfeng medium-range ballistic missiles equipped with a DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle, shown during a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Republic. (Zoya Rusinova/TASS via Getty Images)

«That would get back to what the meaning was supposed to be, that the court got wrong, which would give us the opportunity, I think, for potentially the decision to be overturned, because Congress has clarified it,» Schmitt said.

But, like nearly every legislative push in the Senate, the 60-vote filibuster threshold is a barrier.

That means that Schmitt, or any Republican pushing a bill dealing with birthright citizenship, will need Democratic support to pass.

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Schmitt pointed to the late former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s bill from 1993, the Immigration Stabilization Act, which among other things sought to tweak the 14th Amendment to prevent children of illegal immigrants born in the U.S. from gaining citizenship, as a marker that at one point, Democrats supported the same thing he and Republicans are pushing for.

«It wasn’t that long ago that Harry Reid actually had legislation to deal with this issue,» he said. «And so, you know, are the Democrats going to be a party that learned their lesson from the Biden years where they were open borders and they let 15 to 20 million people here illegally?»

«They don’t believe in sovereignty that we can tell people who can come and who can go,» Schmitt continued. «Is that who they are, or are they gonna make a shift more towards where the American people are at?»