Kate Adamala

“all the chemicals we need for our civilization with biology.”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala describes SpudCell as a framework that could generate chemicals needed for civilization.

“It's probably at least a couple of decades from now when we can actually scale it up to the point where we can replace all the petrochemicals with biology, but I do believe it's doable.”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala estimated it could take at least a couple of decades to scale the technology to replace petrochemicals.

“I do not believe [SpudCell] is alive,”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala told Live Science she does not believe SpudCell is alive, describing it instead as a framework.

“We need to highlight that bioengineering can offer a solution. That's why I'm doing it.”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala said bioengineering can offer a solution to the climate crisis.

“We built a cell-like system that is fully chemically defined, so there are no unknown building blocks in it,”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala described the SpudCell system as fully chemically defined with no unknown building blocks.

“I feel this incredible stressful urgency that if we don't get to work on it now, then we're going to run out of time,”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala expressed urgency about developing synthetic cell technology in the context of the climate crisis.

“It's capable of doing things that people up until now used to think only natural living cells can do.”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala said the system can do things previously thought possible only for natural living cells.

“We believe that if we make a cell from scratch, that's fully engineerable,”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala said she believes a cell made from scratch would be fully engineerable.

“[SpudCell] is not an engineering platform that can give you any useful product, but it's step one,”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala acknowledged SpudCell is not yet an engineering platform that can produce useful products.

“Biotic is a funding agency that is going to globally fund this work,”

Kate Adamala · said date not stated · reported 2026-07-06

Adamala described Biotic, her nonprofit, as a funding agency that will globally fund synthetic cell research.