Katarzyna (Kate) P Adamala is a
synthetic biologist and a professor of genetics at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
.
Research
Adamala's work includes contributions to the field of
astrobiology
Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investig ...
,
synthetic cell engineering and
biocomputing.
Her research on prebiotic RNA replication provided an experimental scenario for the
RNA world
The RNA world is a hypothetical stage in the evolutionary history of life on Earth, in which self-replicating RNA molecules proliferated before the evolution of DNA and proteins. The term also refers to the hypothesis that posits the existence ...
hypothesis of the
origin of life
In biology, abiogenesis (from a- 'not' + Greek bios 'life' + genesis 'origin') or the origin of life is the natural process by which life has arisen from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothes ...
. She has worked on constructing
liposome
A liposome is a small artificial vesicle, spherical in shape, having at least one lipid bilayer. Due to their hydrophobicity and/or hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, particle size and many other properties, liposomes can be used as drug deliver ...
bioreactor
synthetic cells.
She is a founder and steering group member of the
Build-a-Cell Initiative, an international collaboration for creation of synthetic live cells. She is a co-founder of synthetic cell company Synlife.
Adamala and
Szostak demonstrated non enzymatic RNA replication in primitive protocells is only possibly in presence of weak cation chelator like citric acid, providing further evidence for central role of citric acid in primordial metabolism.
References
External links
Lab webpageKate Adamala: Life but Not AliveTEDx talk
Mindscape PodcastKate Adamala on Creating Synthetic Life
Kate Adamala: Breakthrough Discuss 2019
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Synthetic biologists
American bioengineers
Astrobiologists
University of Warsaw alumni
Harvard University alumni
University of Minnesota faculty
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