Artificial life made in lab can grow and divide like natural bacteria

Scientists have identified seven genes that are essential for minimal cells to reproduce like bacteria in the wild. Minimal cells are made in the laboratory and carry only the essential genes needed for cells to function. Biologists at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced that they’d created a line of minimal cells in 2016, but later realised that these didn’t divide symmetrically like bacteria do. Reintroducing seven genes into the minimal-cell genome fixed the issue, providing further insight into how life works on a molecular level.