Isobiology: A Variational Principle for Exploring Synthetic Life

Area of Science:

• Synthetic biology
• Biophysics
• Chemical biology

Background:

• Current synthetic biology often focuses on creating entirely novel biological systems.
• Understanding the fundamental physics of life requires exploring variations within existing biological frameworks.
• Stable isotopes offer a unique tool to probe cellular behavior under altered conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate critical features of life's physics by applying a variational principle to cellular composition.
• To explore the effects of stable isotopes, starting with heavy water, on living cells.
• To extend this principle to other biogenic atoms and second-row elements like boron and fluorine for synthetic biology applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a variational principle to guide the exploration of cellular composition changes.
• Investigating cellular function and behavior using stable isotopes, including deuterium (heavy water).
• Examining the potential of boron and fluorine incorporation into biological systems.

Main Results:

• Stable isotopes, particularly heavy water, can reveal critical aspects of life's physics.
• Isotopes of other biogenic atoms may have subtle but measurable influences.
• Boron and fluorine present novel avenues for synthetic biology, with fluorine showing immediate potential.

Conclusions:

• Slight modifications in cellular composition using stable isotopes provide profound insights into life's physical principles.
• The variational approach using isotopes offers a powerful strategy for advancing synthetic biology.
• Exploring elements like boron and fluorine expands the toolkit for designing novel biological functions.