All life runs on 20 amino acids. These cells run key machinery on just 19
Elie Dolgin • April 30, 2026
AI-guided redesign of protein alphabet in bacteria could unlock new ways to build synthetic organisms.
All life on Earth depends on the same molecular alphabet: 20 amino acids that cells string together to make proteins.
But now, scientists have reengineered bacteria to run a core part of their cellular machinery with just 19 of those amino acids — a feat akin to rewriting one act of a Shakespearean play without a common letter like ‘R’ while keeping the text intelligible.
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