Scientists induce asymmetric division in cells

He Meng, Liyan Jia, Dong Qiu, Yiyang Lin, Shu Wang, Stephen Mann and Yan Qiao reported on May 13 in Nature that they had induced asymmetric splitting in artificial cell-like droplets built from lipids and nucleotides. The study describes multilamellar liquid-crystal droplets that, when triggered by alkaline phosphatase or metal ions, divided into two unequal offspring with different structures and contents. The work addresses a long-standing problem in synthetic cell research: how to make a model cell divide into daughters that are not equivalent, a behavior common in living systems. Nature published the paper under the title “Asymmetric splitting in dividing lipid-nucleotide multilamellar droplets.” ### Which scientists reported the result, and where did it appear? Nature listed He Meng, Liyan Jia, Dong Qiu, Yiyang Lin, Shu Wang, Stephen Mann and Yan Qiao as the authors of the paper, which was published on May 13, 2026. The author list links researchers at the Institute of Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing University of Chemical Technology and the University of Bristol, according to Chinese Academy of Sciences-linked summaries and the journal record. (nature.com) The Chinese Academy of Sciences said the team was led by the Institute of Chemistry and worked with collaborators from Beijing University of Chemical Technology and Bristol. Stephen Mann’s University of Bristol profile describes his research as including protocell design and construction. ### What exactly divided, and what did the daughters look like? The paper studied multilamellar lipid-nucleotide droplets, which the team used as rudimentary artificial cells. (nature.com) Xinhua and ECNS said the parent structure underwent what the researchers described as a “peeling-style” asymmetric division process. Upon exposure to alkaline phosphatase or metal ions, the summaries said, the parent split into a daughter droplet and a daughter liposome. (china.org.cn) Those two products had distinct structural and functional properties, rather than forming two matching daughters. ### Why is asymmetric division a specific target in artificial-cell research? Xinhua said asymmetric division in living systems underpins cellular differentiation, tissue development and functional specialization. (china.org.cn) Reproducing that behavior in artificial cells has been difficult because researchers must create and maintain symmetry breaking during division, according to the same summary. The Nature abstract said the results provide “a step towards the bottom-up assembly of proliferating artificial cells.” That phrasing stops short of claiming a self-sustaining synthetic cell, but it places the work within efforts to build protocells that can grow, divide and diversify. ### How did the team trigger the split without protein machinery? Nature’s summary said the droplets showed asymmetric division without reconstituted protein machinery. (china.org.cn) The system instead relied on structured liquid droplets with crowded interiors, selective sequestration of biomolecules and interfacial wetting, according to the journal summary and secondary coverage. ECNS reported that the approach did not require complex external manipulation. (nature.com) That matters because many earlier artificial-division systems depended on externally imposed shear, light, heat or other interventions to force a split, while the new report centers on a chemically triggered transformation of the droplet itself. ### What did the researchers say the result could be used for? Qiao Yan, a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry, said the realization of asymmetric division could help develop artificial cells with life-like properties, including functional differentiation and inheritance of distinct properties across generations of progeny cells. (nature.com) Chinese state-linked summaries also said the work could open possibilities for next-generation biomanufacturing. (ecns.cn) The same materials said the platform could help researchers study how primitive cells evolved. Those descriptions were presented by the research team and affiliated institutions, not as an independent assessment. ### What has the team not done yet? The researchers said current artificial cells still cannot continuously self-replicate like natural cells. ECNS reported that the system marks a first asymmetric split into two distinct offspring, but not stable, repeated reproduction. (china.org.cn) In the next phase, the team said it will test strategies for multi-generational proliferation and add functional modules including gene expression and metabolic networks. (ecns.cn) The Chinese Academy of Sciences summary published on May 15 repeated that those are the named next steps. (china.org.cn)