Message from the Director of ExCELLS

What is life? The Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS) was established in April 2018 to address this fundamental question. The essence of living systems has long been explored by physicists, including Erwin Schrödinger and Ilya Prigogine, and has been characterized as open systems in disequilibrium. Omics-based approaches that have been developed in recent decades have provided comprehensive knowledge on biomolecules as parts of living systems. However, the fundamental question of how these biomolecules are integrated into living systems remains unanswered. ExCELLS aims to achieve a comprehensive understanding of living systems beyond reductionism by utilizing large-scale data analyses and synthetic biology approaches. For this purpose, ExCELLS develops novel approaches for observing biological entities, deciphering hidden information, and creating living systems to improve understanding of their nature. Moreover, ExCELLS promotes collaborative, interdisciplinary research involving investigators who explore organisms living in extreme environments and provides a unique platform for cross-disciplinary research in an interuniversity, collaborative environment, using the “Observe, Read, and Create” approach. Furthermore, for developing a strong research and innovation base, ExCELLS enlightens young people to become the next generation scientists. To achieve our aims, we would like to expand our international collaborative network. Therefore, your cooperation would be greatly appreciated!