ESF-COST High-Level Research Conference on Systems Chemistry

3 - 8 October 2008, Acquafredda di Maratea (Pz), Italy

Introduction

Systems Chemistry is the joint effort of prebiotic and supramolecular chemistry together with theoretical biology and complex systems research to address problems relating to the origin and synthesis of life. The emerging field can be viewed as the bottom up pendant of systems biology towards synthetic biology. The conference will convene internationally leading experts from various relevant areas to elucidate where we stand in 2008. Facets from this intriguing and truly interdisciplinary endeavour come from fields as diverse as geochemistry and organocatalysis, biomolecular chemistry and liposome technology, metal-organic chemistry and the theory of networks and evolution. Joining these facets by the unifying principle of autocatalysis leads to a new view which may be especially attractive for the next generation of chemists.