A team of scientists from Stanford University, Genentech Pharmaceuticals, and the Chen Zuckerberg Foundation stated in a paper published in the latest issue of Cell that, given the latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and the critical mass of large-scale experimental data on human biology, the scientific community has an "unprecedented opportunity" to use AI to create virtual human cells. This type of cell will be able to represent and simulate the precise behavior of human biomolecules, cells, and ultimately tissues and organs. This synthetic cell model will enable people to gain a deeper understanding of the complex interactions of chemical, electrical, mechanical, and other forces and processes involved in the functioning of healthy human cells, and reveal the fundamental causes of diseases that lead to cellular dysfunction or death. The paper suggests that perhaps even more anticipated is that AI virtual cells will enable scientists to conduct experiments on computers without the need for experiments on living cells and organisms. This ability will expand human understanding of human biology, accelerate the development of new drugs and the emergence of new therapies. With the help of AI virtual cells, cancer biologists can simulate how certain mutations can transform healthy cells into malignant cells, microbiologists can predict the impact of viruses on infected cells and even the host's body, doctors can test treatment methods on patients' "digital twins", thereby accelerating the long-awaited goal of faster, more economical, and safer personalized medicine. However, the paper suggests that in order to succeed, AI virtual cells need to achieve three goals: firstly, it must enable researchers to create universal representations across species and cell types; Secondly, it must accurately predict cellular function, behavior, and dynamics, and understand cellular mechanisms; Finally, AI virtual cells also need to be able to conduct experiments on computers to test hypotheses and guide data collection, thereby expanding the capabilities of virtual cells at a much lower cost and speed than currently available. The paper argues that AI has ushered in an era in the scientific community with predictable, generative, and searchable tools. However, achieving AI virtual cells is not an easy task and requires global open scientific cooperation in fields such as genetics, proteomics, and medical imaging. The paper proposes close collaboration among global stakeholders such as academia, industry, and non-profit organizations to jointly create the world's first AI virtual cell. But the paper also warns that any work on AI virtual cells has a prerequisite, which is that the resulting models will be open to the entire scientific community without restrictions. (New Society)