American researchers have succeeded in creating a computer simulation of the complete life cycle of a minimal cell. Using various algorithms and novel computational methods, they are able to determine the behaviour of every molecule in the digital cell, as the Americans report in Cell of 9 March. In this way they can simulate, among other things, DNA replication, protein translation, the formation of ribosomes, and cell division.
The digital cell is modelled on a modified bacterium, JCVI-syn3A. This bacterium contains just five hundred genes – barely enough to grow, divide, and carry out the basic functions of a cell. Whereas the original completes a cell division in just under two hours, the computer version takes around six days, owing to the large number of calculations involved.
