Dec. 19 2005 10:00AM

Dec. 19 2005 10:50AM

Our command of the laws of physics and their use with computers to simulate how things work is highly advanced. It has reached a stage at which even the most detailed behaviour of complex machines and physical systems can be reproduced within a computer. For example, automotive engineers work with system models that enable them to (almost) completely specify and validate the vehicle within a computer before there is need to construct prototypes or cut metal in a factory. This lecture is about how science aims to do similar things with living organisms. While mathematicians and engineers have been trying to understand the mechanisms of life for many years, the international scientific community is currently focussing an unprecedented effort and financial investment on it, under the heading of Systems Biology.

To explain how this came about, I use the contributions of Erwin Schrödinger during his 16 years in Ireland as an initial point, and describe how scientists are setting about this huge task. Starting with the scientific sense of inquiry that led Schrödinger to ask `What is Life?', I sketch out the scientific developments that are beginning to provide partial answers to this question. During this scientific tour, we will pause from time to time to consider the social, economic, and cultural implications of seeking a scientific basis for the mechanisms of life.

As a finale, I describe particular research projects in which the components of life are mathematically modelled, simulated, and studied in a computer, in a manner that echoes the way in which computer-aided design is used to develop and analyse complex engineering systems.

International Workshop on Data - Algorithms - Decision Making (Contact person: Martin Janžura)