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VITAL: New Biology in the Age of AI

Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Knowing the components of a living system does not by itself explain how they generate function or how that function changes under perturbation. Here we propose VITAL (Virtualized, Verifiable, Integrated Twin Architecture for Life), an international research program to discover which measurable states, dynamic rules, and cross-scale interfaces are sufficient to predict biological function under specified conditions. Experiments would test which information a model must retain and whether predictions linked across scales agree with one another and with measured responses to the same intervention. We outline an islet test linking molecular features, cellular secretory responses, and collective biphasic insulin release. VITAL calls for a coordinated global effort to shape a new biology in the age of AI—one in which models and experiments work together to explain how biological function emerges, predict how it changes and guide interventions for human health.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.24028223
Authors: Chen, Liangyi, Ma, Lei, Wang, Jue, Wang, Zichen, Baillet, Sylvain, Blom, Hans Gunnar, Garan, Steven, Hunter, Peter, Indran, Karthikha, Jiang, Lan, Kwak, Sunwoo, Li, Xiaoman, Lin, Yihan, Liu, Jinwei, Pandit, Abhay, Sun, Yujie, Ueda, Hiroki, Uhlén, Per, Urman, Ian, Wang, Shiqiang, Xing, Jianhua, Yang, Li, Zhang, Peijun, Yang, Yungui, Cheng, Heping (Peace)
Institutions: Peking University, McGill University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, University of Auckland, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway, Karolinska Institutet, University of Pittsburgh, Peking University First Hospital, University of Oxford
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225561218
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