Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32722674›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

What is (synthetic) life? basic concepts of life in synthetic biology.

Sandra Fernau, Matthias Braun, Peter Dabrock

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Reflections upon a new definition of life.Die Naturwissenschaften · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Sandra FernauChair of Systematic Theology II (Ethics), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6944-3262
Matthias BraunChair of Systematic Theology II (Ethics), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Peter DabrockChair of Systematic Theology II (Ethics), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

One of the central aims of synthetic biology (SB) is to better understand the mechanisms of life by trying to develop and synthesize new forms and perhaps modes of life. While the question of what is life has occupied mankind for centuries, there is a lack of empirical research examining the basic concepts of life scientists within SB themselves refer to and build on. In order to gain insights into these fundamental concepts, we conducted a qualitative interview study with scientists working in the field of SB. The aim was to gain a better understanding of the underlying understandings, principles, and characteristics of (synthetic) life on the one hand, and the entangled consequences for the conducted experiments and studies as well as the pursued scientific approaches. We identified four primarily underlying basic concepts of life which serve as a fundamental framework for current and further scientific research within SB and have implications for research questions, approaches and aims as well as for the evaluation of scientific results.

Indexed as

BiomimeticsSynthetic BiologyComprehensionFemaleHumansMaleOrigin of LifeResearchResearch Personnel

Identifiers

PMID32722674
PMCPMC7386558

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.