Tomorrow’s Tech Treepowered by Astra

Biotech & Genetics · Recorded milestone

Synthetic nutrient locks for engineered cells

Recorded year2015

Published experiments make recoded cells dependent on nonstandard amino acids and test escape under specified laboratory conditions.

Explore this milestone on the interactive map

Built on

Recombinant DNARecorded · 1973enables
Chemical DNA synthesisRecorded · 1981enables
Computational protein designRecorded · 2003enables

Led to

Life engineered for spaceForecast · ~2036influences
Evolution-tested nutrient-locked remediationForecast · ~2037requires
Microbes make bulk chemicalsForecast · ~2042scales with
Cellular heredity using an XNA backboneForecast · ~2060influences

Sources & evidence

Biocontainment of genetically modified organisms by synthetic protein design 2015
Laboratory recoded E. coli depended on nonstandard amino acids. Resistance to escape in specified tests does not establish permanent ecological containment.

Mandell and colleagues

Record reviewed 2026-10-18