How complex the model has to be? (Score 1)

The idea of imitating a simple bacterial organism as a piece of software came through my mind a couple of times in the past. Although, it's really interesting, I think there is a fundamental problem with it. How deep the simulation has to go? To properly simulate a living organism, you would have to simulate more fundamental ideas laying inside, like chemistry behind substances involved or physics on a molecular level. As far as I know, there are still parts of these matters that have not been explored / discovered yet. It's pretty impossible to simulate something that you don't really know about everything.

Also, regarding the data contained in a cell. It's pretty obvious there is much more than just DNA. One example may be millions of different states that the cell can be at any particular time throughout its lifespan.