NYU researchers have made microscopic oil droplets in water do something usually reserved for living cells: change shape in complex, controllable ways and even engulf their surroundings.

The findings, published in Nature Communications, show that some of life’s signature behaviors—like morphing into complex shapes and capturing material—can emerge from physics and chemistry alone, without genes, proteins or active cellular machinery.

One of life’s defining features is morphogenesis—the ability of cells and tissues to reshape themselves, form compartments and engulf material from their surroundings. These remarkable transformations normally rely on a sophisticated molecular toolkit.