CyberCell

an early plan to simulate the simplest life

Nobody has managed to simulate all the molecular interactions in one single cell yet. Your body has at least one hundred trillion (human and bacterial) cells in it. This was a plan from 2002:

Like the handful of other ‘virtual cell’ initiatives, the goal of Project CyberCell is to look beyond the current data collection phase of genomics and proteomics, toward their inevitable endpoints- simulating life on a computer. Our challenge is to anticipate where the science is moving so that we can position Canada on the ground floor of what is certain to be largest international effort of this century. The goal of Project CyberCell is to understand the dynamic and structural nature of cellular processes at a sufficiently quantitative level of chemical detail so that a living cell can be recreated computationally. The prospect of examining, controlling and predicting cell physiology In Silico would establish a revolutionary trend in agriculture, environmental research, medicine and biotechnology. It will result in smarter, faster and cheaper science, thereby accelerating the pace of discovery. It will expedite the rational design and screening of pharmaceuticals, agriceuticals and will eventually form the basis for logical strategies in environmental risk assessment. Ultimately, a concerted international effort to create the virtual cell will lay the foundation for the creation of other uni-cellular CyberOrganisms and ultimately, multi-cellular CyberOrganisms.