What is Lyfe?

Breakthroughs during the age of genomics have sent shockwaves throughout the biological and biomedical universes. More than any single discovery, the age has been defined by great enthusiasm, funding in abundance, and generations of scientists that operate under the doctrine that — with new technology — we might solve the mysteries of disease, the origin of species, and the origins of life — sequence by sequence, letter by letter.

But just as biology is simultaneously more capable than ever before, it is rife with widespread misunderstanding and confusion. SFI External Professor Brandon Ogbunu (Yale) offers a new framing of biology, described as “Lyfe,” embodying a multidimensional appreciation of biological systems that includes the power of history, context, environment, nonlinearity, and narrative.