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SUMMARY:Exploring the Border Between Matter and Life - Kira Podolsky - MIT
DTSTART:20251016T140000Z
DTEND:20251016T150000Z
UID:TALK235561@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:90994
DESCRIPTION:How does chemistry become biology? The border between chemistr
 y and biology seems small when modern life seamlessly builds and maintains
  itself with chemical components. But the border is unfathomably larger wh
 en we attempt to reconstruct life from its various building blocks. Using 
 synthetic and biological materials we can mimic and understand emergent fe
 atures of life on earth as it transitioned from abiotic precursors into mo
 dern biology. I will first discuss the development of a method to semisynt
 hesize functional transmembrane proteins in artificial phospholipid membra
 nes\, a step towards building an artificial cell. Then I will turn to the 
 discovery of a minimal peptide catalyst that replaces an essential protein
  in yeast\, suggesting peptides as evolutionary precursors to enzymes in p
 rebiology.
LOCATION:Jean Thomas Lecture theatre\, Sanger Building\, Tennis Court Road
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