Visions of the cell appeared in the 17th century when Robert Hooke observed the basic structure of cork through a microscope and noticed spaces that were similar to the small rooms monks used to live in, so-called ‘cella’ (Sloterdijk 2005, Hooke 1665/1987). Since then, the cell has become an important unit of study leading to the establishment of cytology – currently known as cell biology – and an increasing understanding of the cell (Maienschein 1991). More than 450 years after its discovery, scientists are now rebuilding a cell in silico: a replica of a living cell in a computer:

The Silicon Cell does not resemble Hooke’s monastery room at all, nor does this cell look like common textbook images of cells. As it consists of an enormous amount of letters and moving lineages forming graphs on a screen representing specific cellular processes, the silicon cell will redistribute, transform and reconfigure the notion of life.