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1. Strategies and applications of synthetic cell communication

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-02002-2  

   Moghimianavval, Hossein; Newell, Charlie; Parvizian, Parsa; Booth, Michael J; Liu, Allen P (August 2025, Nature Chemical Biology)

   Cell signalling and communication are fundamental to living cellular communities. For the past two decades, there has been continuous development of bottom-up engineered synthetic cells, which have become more and more similar to their natural counterparts. However, we are only scratching the surface with the development of synthetic cellular communities and their integration into natural tissues. Here, we review different intercellular communication mechanisms engineered for synthetic cells and classify them based on their resemblance to natural cell signalling mechanisms: autocrine, paracrine, and juxtacrine. In particular, we highlight recent advances in molecular tools for intercellular communication designs and discuss potential applications of engineering synthetic cellular communities and synthetic cell-natural cell communication. With further advances in this area, synthetic cellular communities will be powerful tools for understanding and manipulating cellular functions, thus unlocking potential applications in biosensing, cellular reprogramming, and sustainability. 

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2. Emergent Periodic and Quasiperiodic Lattices on Surfaces of Synthetic Hall Tori and Synthetic Hall Cylinders

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.260405  

   Yangqian Yan, Shao-Liang Zhang (December 2019, Physical review letters)

   Synthetic spaces allow physicists to bypass constraints imposed by certain physical laws in experiments. Here, we show that a synthetic torus, which consists of a ring trap in the real space and internal states of ultracold atoms cyclically coupled by Laguerre-Gaussian Raman beams, could be threaded by a net effective magnetic flux through its surface—an impossible mission in the real space. Such a synthetic Hall torus gives rise to a periodic lattice in real dimensions, in which the periodicity of the density modulation of atoms fractionalizes that of the Hamiltonian. Correspondingly, the energy spectrum is featured by multiple bands grouping into clusters with nonsymmorphic-symmetry-protected band crossings in each cluster, leading to swaps of wave packets in Bloch oscillations. Our scheme allows physicists to glue two synthetic Hall tori such that localization may emerge in a quasicrystalline lattice. If the Laguerre-Gaussian Raman beams and ring traps were replaced by linear Raman beams and ordinary traps, a synthetic Hall cylinder could be realized and deliver many of the aforementioned phenomena. 

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3. Co-transcriptional production of programmable RNA condensates and synthetic organelles

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-024-01726-x  

   Fabrini, Giacomo; Farag, Nada; Nuccio, Sabrina Pia; Li, Shiyi; Stewart, Jaimie Marie; Tang, Anli A; McCoy, Reece; Owens, Róisín M; Rothemund, Paul_W K; Franco, Elisa; et al (November 2024, Nature Nanotechnology)

   Condensation of RNA and proteins is central to cellular functions, and the ability to program it would be valuable in synthetic biology and synthetic cell science. Here we introduce a modular platform for engineering synthetic RNA condensates from tailor-made, branched RNA nanostructures that fold and assemble co-transcriptionally. Up to three orthogonal condensates can form simultaneously and selectively accumulate fluorophores through embedded fluorescent light-up aptamers. The RNA condensates can be expressed within synthetic cells to produce membrane-less organelles with a controlled number and relative size, and showing the ability to capture proteins using selective protein-binding aptamers. The affinity between otherwise orthogonal nanostructures can be modulated by introducing dedicated linker constructs, enabling the production of bi-phasic RNA condensates with a prescribed degree of interphase mixing and diverse morphologies. The in situ expression of programmable RNA condensates could underpin the spatial organization of functionalities in both biological and synthetic cells. 

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4. Synthetic feasibility of oxygen-driven photoisomerizations of alkenes and polyenes

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ob01993c  

   Turque, Oliver; Greer, Alexander; Wauchope, Orrette R. (November 2020, Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry)

   null (Ed.)

   This review describes O 2 -dependent photoreactions for possible routes to double-bond isomerizations. E , Z -isomerizations triggered by O 2 and visible light are a new area of potential synthetic interest. The reaction involves the reversible addition of O 2 to form a peroxy intermediate with oxygen evolution and partial regeneration of the compound as its isomer. Targeting of O 2 -dependent photoisomerizations also relates to a practical use of visible light, for example the improved light penetration depth for visible as opposed to UV photons in batch sensitized reactions. This review is intended to draw a link between visible-light formation of a peroxy intermediate and its dark degradation with O 2 release for unsaturated compound isomerization. This review should be of interest both to photochemists and synthetic organic chemists, as it ties together mechanistic and synthetic work, drawing attention to an overlooked subject. 

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5. Control of Astrocyte Quiescence and Activation in a Synthetic Brain Hydrogel

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201901419  

   Galarza, Sualyneth; Crosby, Alfred_J; Pak, ChangHui; Peyton, Shelly_R (January 2020, Advanced Healthcare Materials)

   Abstract Bioengineers have designed numerous instructive brain extracellular matrix (ECM) environments with tailored and tunable protein compositions and biomechanical properties in vitro to study astrocyte reactivity during trauma and inflammation. However, a major limitation of both protein‐based and synthetic model microenvironments is that astrocytes within fail to retain their characteristic stellate morphology and quiescent state without becoming activated under “normal” culture conditions. Here, a synthetic hydrogel is introduced, which for the first time demonstrates maintenance of astrocyte quiescence and activation on demand. With this synthetic brain hydrogel, the brain‐specific integrin‐binding and matrix metalloprotease‐degradable domains of proteins are shown to control astrocyte star‐shaped morphologies, and an ECM condition that maintains astrocyte quiescence with minimal activation can be achieved. In addition, activation can be induced in a dose‐dependent manner via both defined cytokine cocktails and low molecular weight hyaluronic acid. This synthetic brain hydrogel is envisioned as a new tool to study the physiological role of astrocytes in health and disease. 

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