In Mary Shelley’s classic tale “Frankenstein,” the infamous monster comes to life when an assortment of salvaged human organs and animal parts are stitched together and zapped with electricity. A mystical blend of science and imagination brings the creature to life with a burst of lightning.

Unlike fiction, the real-world creation of life is far from simple. However, using nature’s own biological tools could pave the way to addressing many of humanity’s challenges.

Recently, a groundbreaking innovation took center stage: a “synthetic cell” known as SpudCell. Bioengineered from essential biomolecules like proteins, lipids, and DNA, this artificial cell has sparked excitement among scientists for its potential to replicate living cell functions and its promise for revolutionary therapeutic advancements.

Yet, this leaps us into an age-old philosophical dilemma: Are we daringly taking on the role of creators, much like Dr. Frankenstein?

Synthetic cells hold promise as minuscule couriers for delivering medication directly to diseased tissues. They might be engineered to synthesize crucial substances such as insulin, antibiotics, and vaccines right inside a patient. Envision a future where these artificial cells not only produce anticancer drugs but also transport them straight to a tumor, potentially rendering chemotherapy and other harsh treatments obsolete.

Their potential benefits extend to the stars. Long-term space exploration poses all sorts of medical risks. Artificial cells could heal astronauts when doctors aren’t around. If a space cadet gets sick, all he’d have to do is open a packet of synthetic cells and add water — the necessary medications could be manufactured on demand.

These little wonders could even be deployed into the environment to consume toxic chemicals or clean contaminated water.

What could go wrong?

A lot.

For every positive use of synthetic cells, someone out there would create an evil use. Infectious biowarfare capabilities could be apocalyptic.

Or consider another foreseeable nightmare scenario where we produce synthetic cells that consumes oil to clean up spills. Everything is going gangbusters. Until the cells find their way into the world’s oil reserves and eat those up too.

The entire balance of nature could be overthrown.

What if synthetic cells have better Darwinian fitness than natural microorganisms, outcompeting earth’s native bacteria? Some have sounded alarms about the possibility of so-called “mirror life” — hypothetical synthetic cells that function like normal bacteria. But their internal internal enzymes would be flipped compared to all known bacteria. That means our immune systems — and the rest of nature’s — might not recognize these invaders and would have no ability to combat them. They could devour all existing life.

Could this be our punishment for trying to create artificial “life”?

And the question remains: Should these creations be considered truly alive? If recent reactions to SpudCell are any indication, then the media is eager to hype the inventions as real life.

In response to recent successes by Kate Adamala, a University of Minnesota synthetic biologist, CNN claimed, “Scientists say they have built a cell from scratch for the first time that can feed, grow and replicate like a natural cell.”

But SpudCell isn’t alive — if we mean to describe something that can survive in a natural environment, metabolize nutrients, and perpetually self-replicate. And it was hardly made “from scratch.”

Even the New York Times acknowledged that “SpudCell’s originators do not claim to have created life.” Still, one of the scientists involved called it “a genuine milestone on the road toward” the question of lab-engineered life.

Even this is misguided.

Life excels at multiplying. But SpudCell can only survive for a handful of replications before its machinery degrades and ceases to function. This is because SpudCell cannot produce ribosomes — highly complex biomolecular machines that all living cells make to manufacture proteins. SpudCell must be fed a steady diet of ribosomes — all originally made by other real cells.

SpudCells also lack a functional metabolism. As a result, they must be suspended in a “broth” of biomolecules which allow them to perform fundamental functions.

Another area where SpudCell fails to qualify as life is its inability to fully pass on traits to future generations. As bioengineer Tara Daens stated, “It doesn’t reliably pass on its genetic material.”

None of this negates SpudCell’s impressive abilities, of course. But even if we’re playing God, we can’t become Him.

There’s an old joke about scientists who boast to God that they’ve figured out how to make a man. “We start with some dirt,” they begin, until God interjects, “Hold on — you’ve got to get your own dirt!”

This is the essence of SpudCell: Its creators borrowed all the “dirt” in the form of functional information-rich genes, molecular machinery, and enzymes, stolen from living cells.

SpudCell is a testament not only to the cleverness of man, but also a powerful reminder that life originates only through intelligent design.

Casey Luskin is a PhD scientist and Associate Director at Discovery Institute.

On a quiet Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo, the world-renowned billionaire footballer, tied the knot with Georgina Rodríguez in an intimate ceremony at their home in Portugal. Sporting a casual T-shirt beneath a suit jacket, Ronaldo kept the occasion low-key yet meaningful as the couple exchanged vows.

The duo celebrated their union on a special date, the decade-long milestone since first crossing paths. Their love story began at a Gucci store in Madrid, where Rodríguez, then a shop assistant, first met the athlete. With Ronaldo now 41 and Rodríguez 32, the date held profound significance.

Contrary to swirling rumors and heightened public interest, the couple opted for a simple affair. The event transitioned seamlessly from their living room to a nearby church, a location that evoked deep emotions in Georgina, who admitted she couldn’t hold back her tears during the heartfelt moment.

In a candid discussion with Vogue for the magazine’s Summer digital issue, Rodríguez shared insights about their choice of venue: “We wanted to do it in the very room of our home where we share our daily meals and capture the essence of our everyday life…”

She continued, expressing a sentimental future vision, “In 30 years, I hope our children reflect on this table and think about something wonderful — the wedding vows of their parents.”

‘When I was a little girl I dreamt of the biggest castle, the biggest carriage, the longest dress, a crown full of diamonds. And now I’m saying: no. I want something intimate, with my partner and our children, at home.’ 

However, the beauty did promise in the interview that they would in the future have a ‘big wedding’ to celebrate with their wider family and friends but did not elaborate further on their plans. 

Another surprising element of the day was their choice of clothes, however, the couple explained the reason they both wore Gucci was due to them meeting at the Gucci store in Spain all those years ago.

They called the idea a ‘full circle’ moment.  

Georgina wore a sheer white shirt and skirt, satin shoes teamed with sparkling diamond jewellery from Chopard. 

Cristiano meanwhile wore a custom light beige cotton suit, T-shirt and loafers for the big day. The children all wore matching outfits.

‘He’s not going to dress us up,’ Georgina explained. ‘I didn’t want us to go into a day that was so simple for us in costumes.’

After the ceremony at home they drove to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, an hour away, where a priest gave them a blessing. 

The couple won’t be going on a honeymoon and have already jetted back to Saudi Arabia where he plays football.

The couple have daughters Alana and Bella together, and welcomed twins Eva Maria and Mateo through surrogacy.

Bella had a twin brother named Angel, but he sadly passed away shortly after birth. Ronaldo has a final child, Cristiano Jr, from an earlier relationship.

The footballer shared that he and Georgina had tied the knot after ten years together by sharing a snap of their wedding bands on Instagram.

He captioned the post: ‘C❤️G.’

A representative for Ronaldo also confirmed news of the union, saying: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez were married today in a civil ceremony in Cascais, Portugal, and are now officially husband and wife. 

‘The ceremony was a private and intimate moment attended by their five children.’

Jornal de Noticias published a copy of the couple’s marriage certificate late on Thursday, saying only four witnesses were present as well as their children.

Cristiano’s mother Dolores Aveiro and his three siblings Hugo, Elma and Katia, were not present at the intimate civil ceremony.

His family found out he was marrying his long-term girlfriend just moments before he married Georgina, a local report has claimed.

It was Portuguese television presenter Cristina Ferreira who claimed the footballer’s family’s absence from his big day will ’cause problems’.

Speaking on TVI programme Dois at ten, she said: ‘It will cause a lot of problems because the family wasn’t present.

‘And they shouldn’t even have known. Or if they did know, it was 30 seconds beforehand.’

Claudio Ramos added on the programme: ‘I really hope that what we said here, which had to do with the impressions we get from what exists on social media, did not actually cause sadness in the family, that things were not as they apparently seem.’

Dolores, who has had to refute claims over the years of a bad relationship with her daughter-in-law, gave her blessing to the star couple’s union.

Shortly after they announced they were married she posted a heart emoticon on Cristiano’s official social media alongside the snap he published of their rings.

Cristiano’s sister Katia, who is based in Brazil but travelled to her native Madeira at the weekend to meet family and friends, did the same.

She has yet to address reports she and other members of Cristiano’s family were absent from the Cascais wedding ceremony.

Georgina’s sister Ivana, Cristiano’s long-time friend Miguel Paixao and a Spanish couple named as Jose Rodríguez Sangil and his wife Monica Gonzalez Martinez were the only witnesses.

Registrar Maria Manuel Ferreira de Campos Folhadela de Oliveira travelled from the northern Portuguese city of Porto to Cascais to officiate the ceremony.

And the star couple, who married exactly one year to the day after they announced their engagement on social media, have decided to keep their pre-nuptial assets separate despite tying the knot after a decade-long romance.

They signed a pre-nup agreement to define their property regime on August 10, a day before the ceremony at a public notary’s office in Lisbon.