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I am an early-career researcher who is passionate about bottom-up synthetic biology. It is a great initiative to stimulate cooperation between people sharing a mission, but above all that it brings together talented scientists who can tackle the problems of today's society. I fully share the green and ethical approach of the community and it is an additional reason why I decided to be part of it.

Building a Synthetic Cell is a challenging task that involves many different aspects. The key to success is to first develop functional sub-modules, which will not only aid the development of a synthetic cell, but also provide new scientific insights. Eventually, these sub-modules will be combined into one functional unit, for which simplicity will be essential. Once a sustainable replicating entity is created, one can truly say a synthetic cell has been engineered, for which the possibilities are numerous.

This is an important initiative that will strengthen basic research and develop an innovative approach for creating life. Thank you for your great efforts!

SynCell is a timely initiative likely to be of crucial importance in our quest to understand cellular life and also develop the next generation of soft-matter technologies for applications ranging from therapy, diagnostics and drug development to the "green synthesis" of new compounds and materials.

Now is the time for a synthetic cell flagship Complex networks of proteins, nucleic acids and small molecules sustain the essential processes of energy provision, gene expression and cell division that characterize living cells. Over the past decades, many of the molecules that make up cells have been identified and studied. Yet, despite increased chemical and physical understanding of these biomolecules and their mutual interactions, it remains elusive how they together form a cell that can autonomously grow and replicate. While we are not yet capable to construct such functional biological systems de novo, we can start to assemble and analyze minimal systems that mimic cellular behavior, with the ultimate goal to engineer a synthetic cell. I very much like the idea of constructing a minimal form of life; it is extremely challenging and requires the expertise of scientists from several disciplines but now is the time to bring the right people together. The proposal of Dogterom addresses a problem where Europe can make a difference. It requires long-term funding and a clear vision on which problems to tackle (how, when, where), and a strategy to effectively collaborate across various disciplines of the life, natural and computational sciences and the humanities; the topic will bring ethical and philosophical issues on “what is life”. The construction of a synthetic cell will give unprecedented insight in the “laws of life”, and, ultimately, it will allow us to engineer different forms of life to address the Grand Challenges of Europe.

At the fundamental level, the proposed research allows us to understand what we mean by alive or dead, and explore the fascinating territory between these two states. From the practical viewpoint, research in this area will lead to synthetic cells and tissues that can be used in medical applications. These materials will be safe and inexpensive.