It's probably a bit too soon to welcome our new inorganic life overlords, but that doesn't mean that scientists in Scotland aren't trying hard! They're busy at work to create self-replicating, evolving cells made from inorganic chemicals:
LinkResearchers say the cells, which can also store electricity, could potentially be used in all sorts of applications in medicine, as sensors or to confine chemical reactions.
The research is part of a project by Prof Cronin to demonstrate that inorganic chemical compounds are capable of self-replicating and evolving - just as organic, biological carbon-based cells do.
Prof Cronin believes that creating inorganic life it is entirely feasible.
He added: "The grand aim is to construct complex chemical cells with life-like properties that could help us understand how life emerged and also to use this approach to define a new technology based upon evolution in the material world - a kind of inorganic living technology.
"Bacteria are essentially single-cell micro-organisms made from organic chemicals, so why can't we make micro-organisms from inorganic chemicals and allow them to evolve?