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In 1944, Erwin Schrödinger posed the question “How can the events in space and time which take place within the spatial boundary of a living organism be accounted for by physics and chemistry?” Studying out-of-equilibrium chemical systems may take us closer to an answer.
Nanoscience can play an important role in addressing a number of societal challenges, but, as Rein V. Ulijn and Elisa Riedo explain, research training needs to evolve.