I've been enthusiastic about intelligence research for a couple of years now. One of the people I came across early on while scrolling through Twitter was Michael Levin, a computer scientist/biologist from Tufts University. His work can't be placed into just one category. He studies biological systems, but the questions he asks and the tools he uses to answer these questions are wide-reaching. Here, you can explore his academic and personal work.
Additionally, he's the co-founder of three companies: Morphoceuticals, Fauna Systems, and Astonishing Labs.
Morphoceuticals aims to reprogram the software of life. This means they assume that cells communicate with each other using bioelectricity, and by intervening in that conversation, you can influence its outcome. Different outcomes mean different behaviors.
To illustrate why this is exciting, think about what cancer is. At its core, cancer represents a breakdown in the regulatory conversation between cells. Normally, cells coordinate with each other through biochemical signals and bioelectrical gradients, ensuring that they grow, divide, and differentiate into the correct tissues at the right times. When these communication channels fail, cells can start forming tumors. While traditional therapies focus on “killing” cancerous cells, Morphoceuticals doesn’t kill. Instead, it aims to engage in dialogue with the cancerous cells to help them return to healthy growth patterns.
This is truly amazing work.
