Bioenergetic Engineering

Document type: Opportunity space

Author: Nathan Wolfe

Date published: 24 July 2025

Version: 1

DOI: https://doi.org/10.67475/be0gxa-9v33

Abstract

In his seminal 1944 work What is Life? Schrödinger proposed that fundamentally, life accumulates order by harvesting energy, and preserves its capacity to do this via information (i.e. genetics). Genetic engineering now lets us control life’s information, yet the engineering of life’s energy remains underdeveloped. A powerful set of new tools could bridge the gap, enabling breakthroughs ranging from treatments for neurodegenerative disease to biohybrid solutions for environmental remediation and resilience.

Bioenergetic Engineering was one of ARIA's original opportunity spaces. Following an evolution of our research portfolio in August 2026, it now sits within the Programmable Physiology opportunity space. The beliefs and observations that defined Bioenergetic Engineering still hold, and its remit continues in full within Programmable Physiology with respect to both future programmes and seed funding. No active funding was affected by this change.