Intelligent Living Cell (iL-Cell) Realization of the Ultimate Personalized Medicine

Abstract

The social systems have been shifting to balance work with child or elderly care, or to decentralize services from major cities. The concept of where and when to work is changing. The acceleration of declining birthrate and aging population, shortage of doctors in depopulated areas, have created a craving for telemedicine at home. In addition, scientific advances will enable drug discovery based on individual DNA information, personalized medicine with fewer side effects and higher therapeutic efficacy. In view of these social trends, we propose the development of "Intelligent Living (iL)-Cell," a small cell-like organism (Living) with advanced functions (Intelligent). The iL-Cell must be equipped with functions not found in conventional cells, such as energy production and storage, and sensing of biomolecules. In this symposium, we would like to discuss what should be researched for the construction of iL-Cells and the society in 2050 that iL-Cells will open up.