THEIR MAKERS call them “SpudCells”. Unglamorous as that sounds(尽管听起来不光彩), it is still somewhat flattering(恭维的，褒义的). A potato is solid(坚实的，固体的), robust(强健的， robust) and purposeful(有目的的, 意志坚定的). The cells made in Kate Adamala’s lab at the University of Minnesota are, in her own words, “wimpy(软弱的，懦弱的)” and “helpless(无助的)”. They have no metabolism(新陈代谢), instead depending on(转而依赖) a bespoke(定制的) environment for nearly everything they need. They do nothing but(只做……，仅仅) follow the programmes(程序（英式拼写）) for growth and reproduction written into their seven loops of designer DNA(七环设计DNA).
它们的创造者称之为“土豆细胞”。尽管这个称呼听起来并不光鲜，但多少还是有些褒义的。土豆是坚实、强壮且目标明确的。但明尼苏达大学凯特·阿达马拉实验室制造的细胞，用她自己的话说，却是“软弱无力”和“无助的”。它们没有新陈代谢，几乎一切需求都依赖一个定制的环境。它们除了执行写入其七环设计DNA中的生长和繁殖程序外，什么也不做。
But that is enough to make them revolutionary(足以使他们具有革命性). Unlike everything else ever seen which grows and reproduces itself under genetic control, neither the SpudCells themselves, nor any parts of them, have ancestors.(与所有其他在基因控制下生长繁殖的生物不同，SpudCell及其组成部分都没有祖先。) Their bodies and genomes were built in the lab from scratch(从头开始，从零开始), each molecule specified(明确指定的) precisely. According to John Glass, a pioneer(先驱, 开拓者) in the field who works at the J. Craig Venter Institute(J. Craig Venter研究所，合成生物学领先机构) in San Diego, this makes the SpudCells “a landmark event in the history of biology and synthetic cells.” That said(即便如此，话虽如此), he adds, “Most people won’t appreciate(意识到, 重视, 欣赏) its importance.”
但这足以让它们具有革命性。与以往所见的所有在基因控制下生长和繁殖的生物不同，SpudCell本身及其任何组成部分都没有祖先。它们的身体和基因组是在实验室里从零开始构建的，每个分子都被精确指定。据该领域先驱、圣地亚哥J. Craig Venter研究所的John Glass称，这使SpudCell成为“生物学和合成细胞历史上的一个里程碑事件”。尽管如此，他补充道，“大多数人不会意识到它的重要性。”
One reason it might be underappreciated(被低估的) is that making living cells is not hard in itself(本身); other cells do it all the time. Start with a single bacterium(细菌（单数）) at the beginning of the day and you can have a million by teatime(下午茶时间). But no humans can make one from scratch, and the mechanisms by which cells themselves do it remain mysterious.(但没有人能从零制造一个，且细胞自身的繁殖机制仍然神秘。)
它可能被低估的一个原因是，制造活细胞本身并不难；其他细胞无时无刻不在这样做。一天开始时从单个细菌出发，到下午茶时间就能拥有一百万个。但没有任何人能从零开始制造一个，而细胞自我繁殖的机制仍然是一个谜。
Half-life
半衰期
Planning for a revolution
为革命做规划