How Penn State Scientist Christine Keating Is Making Cell-Like Vesicles Out of Non-Living Polymers

Synthetic Cells

by Tom Imerito

Chris Keating wants to know something basic about how cells work. “How does a given molecule within a cell get to the place where it wants to go?” she asks.

To find the answer, a great many researchers have tried taking cells apart. But Keating, an assistant professor of chemistry at Penn State, is using a different approach: she’s building a cell from scratch.

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