ABC-AC — Advanced Biology Course on Artificial Cell
PSL Master in Life Sciences - ENS
BIO-PG-ABCAC-S1|ABC-AC - Advanced Biology Course on Artificial Cell
Year : 1 (M1) / 2 (M2) and PhD
Semester : 1 (S1)
Duration : 12 sessions of 2h
Hours : From October to December on Wednesdays, 5:15-7:15 p.m.
Venue : ENS Biology Department (46 rue d’Ulm, 75005 Paris)
Coordination
Manuel Théry, CEA
Julien Mozziconacci, MNHN
Credits
3 ECTS
Keywords
Course prerequisites
Course objectives and description
Aims and themes : The course aims to :
● Enhance understanding of life’s fundamental principles through the lens of artificial systems.
● Foster critical thinking and analytical skills by engaging with current research and data interpretation.
● Encourage collaborative learning and effective communication through student-led presentations and discussions.
The course focuses on the fundamental concept of artificial cells, which are engineered from basic components like lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Unlike synthetic cells that modify existing cellular structures, artificial cells are built from the ground up to mimic life’s essential functions. This approach helps in understanding the elementary building blocks of life, maintaining structural integrity, propagating information, and interacting with the environmen
Organisation : Each session is 2 hours long, divided into :
○ 90 minutes of presentations by the two experts, detailing milestone studies,
current challenges, and their personal research.
○ 30 minutes for student presentations on selected articles, with evaluations
based on their performance.
Course sessions and expert contributions
1. Life Theory / Information (2 October 2024)
– Experts : Terence Strick (ENS) & Ludovic Julien (ENS)
– Topics : Physics and chemistry of living systems, information theory
2. Origin of Life (9 October 2024)
– Experts :Marie-Christine Maurel (MNHN) & Philippe Nghe (ESPCI)
– Topics : Early oligonucleotides, self-replicative RNAs
3. Biomolecule synthesis : Part I (16 October 2024)
– Experts : Olivier Borkowski (U Saclay, AgroParisTech) + Alice Lebreton (ENS)
– Topics : Protein synthesis in cell-free systems, Synthesis of ribosomal RNA
4. Philosophical insights on artificial life (23 October 2024)
– Experts : Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent (Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne) + Guest
– Topics : Technoscience, conceptualizing artificial life
5. Biomolecule synthesis : Part II (30 October 2024)
– Experts : Ariel Linder + Guest
– Topics : Large scale synthesis and Biofoundery
6. Energy management (6 November 2024)
– Experts : Bruno Miroux (IBPC) + Jean-Christophe Baret (U Bordeaux)
– Topics : Membrane proteins, proton transport, Metabolism, CO2 fixation
7. Morphogenesis (13 November 2024)
– Experts : Manuel Théry (ESPCI) & Patricia Bassereau (Curie)
– Topics : Cytoskeleton-based structures, lipid-based morphogenesis
8. Compartments (20 November 2024)
– Experts : Zoher Gueroui (ENS) & Lea-Laetitia Pontani (LJP Sorbonne Université)
– Topics : Phase transitions, membrane sensors, compartmentalization strategies
9. DNA based computing structures (27 November 2024)
– Experts : Damien Baigl (ENS) & Yannick Rondelez (ESPCI)
– Topics : DNA-based architectures and processing systems
10. Evolutionary Dynamics (4 December 2024)
– Experts : Olivier Rivoire (ESPCI) & Aleksandra Walczak (ENS)
– Topics : Evolution of genomes and pathways
11. Generative AI for biomolecules (11 December 2024)
– Experts : Julien Mozziconacci (MNHN) & Elodie Laine ( Sorbonne Université)
– Topics : AI-generated DNA and protein sequences