Related papers: Protocell Self-Reproduction in a Spatially Extende…
The building of minimal self-reproducing systems with a physical embodiment (generically called protocells) is a great challenge, with implications for both theory and applied sciences. Although the classical view of a living protocell…
The reproduction of a living cell requires a repeatable set of chemical events to be properly coordinated. Such events define a replication cycle, coupling the growth and shape change of the cell membrane with internal metabolic reactions.…
We construct a simple model of a proto-cell that simulates a stochastic dynamics of abstract chemicals on a two-dimensional lattice. We assume that chemicals catalyze their reproduction through interaction with each other, and that between…
Protocells are supposed to have played a key role in the self-organizing processes leading to the emergence of life. Existing models either (i) describe protocell architecture and dynamics, given the existence of sets of collectively…
We provide a non-equilibrium thermodynamic description of the life-cycle of a droplet based, chemically feasible, system of protocells. By coupling the protocells metabolic kinetics with its thermodynamics, we demonstrate how the system can…
Cross-reactions and other systematic issues generated by the coupling of functional chemical subsystems pose the largest challenge for assembling a viable protocell in the laboratory. Our current work seeks to identify and clarify such key…
For understanding the origin of life, it is essential to explain the development of a compartmentalized structure, which undergoes growth and division, from a set of chemical reactions. In this study, a hypercycle with two chemicals that…
A high activity of reactions can be confined in a model cell with a semipermeable membrane in the Schl\"ogl model. It is interpreted as a model of primitive metabolism in a cell. We study two generalized models to understand the creation of…
It has been pointed out that if an autocatalytic cycle produces primitive membrane chemicals, it can compose a self-maintaining proto cell. Moreover, it is known that a proto cell can divide itself spontaneously as it grows. An unsolved…
The evolution of complex cellular life involved two major transitions: the encapsulation of self-replicating genetic entities into cellular units and the aggregation of individual genes into a collectively replicating genome. In this paper,…
Systems biology and whole-cell modelling are demanding increasingly comprehensive mathematical models of cellular biochemistry. These models require the development of simplified models of specific processes which capture essential…
This review article provides a specific example of recombinant cell and protocell technology, moving from what is presently known to suggesting how novel application of existing methodologies could be utilized to design a complex synthetic…
This study presents a theoretical model for a self-replicating mechanical system inspired by biological processes within living cells and supported by computer simulations. The model decomposes self-replication into core components, each of…
We study the Schloegl model in a vesicle with semi-permeable membrane. The diffusion constant takes a smaller value in the membrane region, which prevents the outflow of self-catalytic product. A nonequilibrium state is stably maintained…
The bottom-up construction of synthetic cells is one of the most intriguing and interesting research arenas in synthetic biology. Synthetic cells are built by encapsulating biomolecules inside lipid vesicles (liposomes), allowing the…
Model biomembrane systems play a crucial role in advancing biomedical research by providing simplified yet effective platforms for exploring complex biological mechanisms. These systems span a wide range of scales, from…
Stem cells are characterized by their ability to self-renew, as well as to differentiate and give rise to new populations of cells. Stem cell divisions are crucial for generative processes that occur during early development, and later in…
Engineering simple, artificial models of living cells allows synthetic biologists to study cellular functions under well-controlled conditions. Reconstituting multicellular behaviors with synthetic cell-mimics is still a challenge because…
To unveil the logic of cell from a level of chemical reaction dynamics, we need to clarify how ensemble of chemicals can autonomously produce the set of chemical, without assuming a specific external control echanism. A cell consists of a…
A continuous route from a disordered soup of simple chemical feedstocks to a functional protocell -- a compartment that metabolizes, grows, and propagates -- remains elusive. Here, we show that a homogeneous aqueous chemical mixture…