Biologists have identified three critical principles that must be present in any living system: They must be self-creating, self-organizing and self-sustaining. The self-sustaining capability includes the ability to replicate components, process information and steadily consume energy from the environment. While electronic systems are highly adept at information processing, they are not self-replicating except at the software level, and they consume only one type of strictly defined electrical energy.

Synthetic biology will be able to remedy that problem by creating artificial-life systems employing the same flexible molecular strategy of living systems. Several avenues of attack are being developed to do that.