Synthetic Cells, Mirror Life, and the Future of Engineered Biology — with Emma Frow

What do we actually mean when we say we've made life in a lab? In this episode, Sean and Andrew welcome back ASU's Emma Frow — a researcher working at the rare intersection of bioengineering, governance, and care — to wander into one of the strangest frontiers in science: synthetic cells. Emma was one of roughly fifteen members of a National Academies committee tasked with thinking through the responsible innovation of synthetic cells, and as she tells it, the group spent its first six months simply trying to agree on what a synthetic cell is. It turns out there's no consensus — the term stretches from a humble bag of enzymes wrapped in a lipid membrane all the way to fully constructed, self-replicating organisms. From there the conversation moves into deeper water: What counts as living? Where does a cell end and a bundle of chemicals begin? And who, exactly, decides whether a new creation belongs to the world of chemical safety or biological oversight? The trio also takes on the unsettling idea of "mirror life" — organisms built from the opposite molecular handedness of everything that has ever lived — and the recent scientific reckoning over whether some doors are better left unopened. What emerges isn't fear, exactly, but a case for care: the recognition that biotechnology can't move at Silicon Valley speed, that containment is never perfect, and that the questions we ask matter as much as the things we build. It's a conversation about handedness and humility, about plasmids and power, and about why the slow, friction-filled work of asking "should we?" might be the most human technology of all. Emma's ASU Bio - [web] Read the Report: Supporting Responsible Innovation of Synthetic Cells: Biosafety, Biosecurity, and Environmental Considerations2026 [Web] -----Modem Futura is a production of the Future of Being Human initiative at Arizona State University. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. To learn more about the Future of Being Human initiative and all of our other projects visit - https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.eduSubscribe to our YouTube Channel: @ModemFuturaFollow us on Instagram: @ModemFuturaHost Bios:Sean M. Leahy, PhD - ASU BioSean is an internationally recognized technologist, futurist, and educator innovating humanistic approaches to emerging technology through a Futures Studies approach. He is the Executive Director for the Future of Being Human Initiative and Research Scientist for the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and Senior Global Futures Scholar with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.Andrew Maynard, PhD - ASU BioAndrew is a scientist, author, thought leader, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions in the ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society. He is the founder of the ASU Future of Being Human initiative, Director of the ASU Risk Innovation Nexus, and was previously Associate Dean in the ASU College of Global Futures.-----