In a groundbreaking study, scientists have engineered bacteria to function using just 19 amino acids instead of the usual 20, challenging a fundamental rule of biology. By redesigning key cellular machinery like the ribosome, researchers successfully removed one amino acid (isoleucine) while maintaining function.
Using advanced AI tools such as AlphaFold, the team redesigned proteins to preserve their structure and activity.
This achievement not only hints that early life may have used simpler building blocks, but also opens doors to synthetic biology innovations, enabling scientists to engineer cells with entirely new capabilities.
Read more at Nature