A novel architecture for collaboration in systems biology at the age of the Metaverse

Abstract The current state of the Metaverse is largely driven by corporate interests, which may not align with the scientific goals and values. Hence, academia should play a more active role in its development. In this paper, we present the challenges and solutions for building a Metaverse that supports systems biology research and collaboration. Our solution consists of two components: Kosmogora, a server ensuring biological data access, traceability, and integrity in the context of a highly collaborative environment such as a metaverse; and ECellDive, a virtual reality application to explore, interact, and build upon the data managed by Kosmogora. We illustrate the synergy between the two components by visualizing a metabolic network and its flux balance analysis. We also argue that the Metaverse of systems biology will foster closer communication and cooperation between experimentalists and modelers in the field.