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The imitation game—a computational chemical approach to recognizing life

Nature Biotechnology volume 24, pages 1203–1206 (2006)Cite this article

When is an artificial cell alive? A Turing test–like method may provide the answer.

The definition of 'life' has invoked innumerable vigorous discussions, ranging from the religious to the scientific, philosophical and metaphysical, and still today no universally acceptable definition is available. This controversy is inescapable because of the absence of a theory of the nature of living systems1. There is, however, an urgent practical need for a universally acceptable way of recognizing life or the potential for life. The absence of any agreed- upon guiding definitions of what it is to be alive, and more generally of what is life, makes it difficult for researchers in a variety of communities to objectively recognize success. For example, it remains far from trivial within the exobiology and astrobiology communities to objectively assess whether a new form of extraterrestrial life has been discovered; for researchers studying the origins of life, it is difficult to demonstrate whether life's beginnings have been successfully explained; and in the synthetic biology and artificial chemistry communities, demonstrating the creation of a wholly synthetic life form is a daunting process.

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Figure 1: Different takes on Turing.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Chick Wilson (Glasgow), Paula-Ann Duxbury (EPSRC) and our ChellNET colleagues (http://www.chellnet.org/) for fruitful discussions. We would also like to thank the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for funding under grants EP/D023343/1, EP/D021847/1, EP/D023327/1, EP/D023378/1, EP/D022304/1, EP/D022347/1, EP/D023904/1, EP/D023807/1 and EP/D023777/1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, the University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK

    Leroy Cronin & Geoff Cooper

  2. School of Computer Science and Information Technology, the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG8 1BB, UK

    Natalio Krasnogor & Peter Siepmann

  3. Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK

    Benjamin G Davis & Paul M Gardner

  4. School of Pharmacy, Boots Science Building, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Cameron Alexander

  5. School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JJ, UK

    Neil Robertson

  6. Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    Joachim H G Steinke

  7. School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science (CEAS), School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, PO Box 88, Sackville Street, Manchester, M60 1QD, UK

    Sven L M Schroeder

  8. School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Andrei N Khlobystov & Dan Marsh

  9. School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Benjamin J Whitaker

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Cronin, L., Krasnogor, N., Davis, B. et al. The imitation game—a computational chemical approach to recognizing life. Nat Biotechnol 24, 1203–1206 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1006-1203

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