The computer programme developed by researchers at Stanford University is an exact replica of the Mycoplasma genitalium bacterium, including its DNA and all the other components of its single cell.

The scientists hope that the simulation will help them explore the subtleties of how a cell works, unravel the genetic causes of disease, and predict how new therapies could prevent or treat illness.

Prof Markus Covert, who led the study published in the Cell journal, told the BBC: ‘The public hear about a new ‘cancer gene’ being discovered … cancer is not a one-gene problem.

‘There are thousands of factors interacting in very complicated ways and for us to understand a disease like that, we really need to start going back and trying to see if we can understand the whole cell.’

To help understand the complexity of a cell Prof Covert and his team decided to recreate the entire life cycle of M. genitalium, a sexually transmitted parasite, which was chosen for its biological simplicity.

Information about the biology of the bacterium was taken from more than 900 scientific journals and programmed into the computer simulation, with each cell comprising half a gigabyte of data.

The researchers hope the model, which anyone can download, will […]