Building a synthetic chemical synapse through harnessed stochasticity. At the molecular level, biology is noisy, and life has evolved a plethora of mechanisms to harness this noise for useful output.

Description

Building a synthetic chemical synapse through harnessed stochasticity. At the molecular level, biology is noisy, and life has evolved a plethora of mechanisms to harness this noise for useful output. If we want to construct de novo living systems to learn more about biology and the origin of life, then we must not ignore noise. This project aims to apply a design philosophy that embraces randomness to construct an artificial chemical synapse. Expected outcomes include creating a blueprint for the next generation of more dynamic artificial cells, developing vital tools for the elucidation of principles in biophysics and systems biology, and deepening our understanding of how noisy molecular level events have downstream effects on macro-scale behaviours. Several international collaborations are involved. . Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: Dr Alexander Mason