SYNTHETIC cells made by combining components of Mycoplasma bacteria with a chemically synthesised genome can grow and divide into cells of uniform shape and size, just like most natural bacterial cells. In 2016, researchers led by Craig Venter at the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, California, announced that they had created synthetic "minimal" cells. The genome in each cell contained just 473 key genes thought to be essential for life. The cells were named JCVI-syn3.0 But on closer inspection of the dividing cells, Elizabeth Strychalski at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology and her colleagues noticed that they weren't splitting uniformly and evenly to produce identical daughter cells as most natural bacteria do.