Cornell University engineers have created an artificial material that has three key traits of life — metabolism, self-assembly and organization. The engineers were able to pull off such a feat by using DNA in order to make machines from biomaterials that would have characteristics of alive things.

Dubbing their process DASH for “DNA-based Assembly and Synthesis of Hierarchical” materials, the scientists made a DNA material that has metabolism — the set of chemical processes that convert food into energy necessary for the maintenance of life.

The goal for the scientists is not to create a lifeform but a machine with lifelike characteristics, with Dan Luo, professor of biological and environmental engineering, pointing out “We are not making something that’s alive, but we are creating materials that are much more lifelike than have ever been seen before.”

The major innovation here is the programmed metabolism that is coded into the DNA materials. The set of instructions for metabolism and autonomous regeneration allows the material to grow on its own.

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