cellái

Cellái is a term used in speculative biology and science fiction to describe a class of modular, cell-like units capable of autonomous behavior within biological or synthetic systems. In many works, cellái are envisioned as fundamental building blocks that can combine into larger structures, much as real cells form tissues and ecosystems. They are often employed to explore ideas about the origins of life, minimal cognition, and the emergence of complexity from simple units.

The name cellái appears in various fictional contexts and does not have a standardized definition in real science. Authors use the term to evoke ancient, simple life forms while remaining flexible about their precise biology. The concept functions as a thought tool rather than a cataloged biological category.

Typical descriptions place cellái on a spectrum from protocell-like vesicles with basic metabolism to programmable, lipid-bound compartments capable of replication and signaling. Some portray them as capable of exchanging information through chemical signals or membrane channels, enabling collective behavior when they aggregate into colonies or networks. In certain depictions, cellái also exhibit rudimentary decision-making or adaptability in response to environmental cues.

In scholarly and cultural discussions, cellái serve to illuminate questions about abiogenesis, the thresholds between chemistry and biology, and the ethics of creating synthetic life. They appear in philosophical essays, educational simulations, and science fiction narratives as a device to probe life’s defining properties, agency, and autonomy.

See also: protocell, abiogenesis, artificial life, synthetic biology, cellular automata. This article describes a fictional or speculative concept; it is not a recognized real-world biological category.