What is reverse engineering in biology?

Reverse engineering in biology refers to the process of understanding biological systems by breaking down their complex mechanisms into simpler, understandable components. For example, the analysis of how single cells develop into complex systems, such as a human being, from a genome to a fully wired organism, is a form of reverse engineering. However, this task is highly challenging due to the intricate nature of biological systems.

In a discussion on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Lex Fridman highlights the extreme complexity of reverse engineering the human biological system, including understanding the biochemistry and neural networking of the brain. He indicates that it may be easier to construct a human-like entity than to completely reverse engineer the natural developmental pathways of biology from genetics to a fully functioning organism 1.

This complexity arises because biological systems are not just about genetic codes, but involve understanding the entire ecosphere of biochemical reactions, developmental pathways, and their interaction with the environmental conditions, which are only partially understood. These factors make reverse engineering a formidable task in biology.