Artificial Life, or Alife, is the study of complex systems of life through computer simulations, robotics, and biochemistry. Contrary to artificial intelligence, Alife typically employs the bottom-up research strategy, combining smaller systems to generate greater ones.

Artificial life became a legitimate science with the appearance of the first computers. Jon Von Neumann was an early theorist who forwarded the idea of self-replicating machines based on Alan Turing's universal computerhttp://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v450/n7170/full/450612a.html

• The next stage included the development of cellular automata, and some of the most recent applications involve computer animation.http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v450/n7170/full/450612a.html

Artificial Life has long been on the margins of scientific research, mainly because of difficulty in hard scientific study toward its methods and basic theory. However, the publication of articles on Alife in such journals as Nature and Science has established Artificial Life as a mainstream field of study.Nature.com: Is artificial life moving any closer? (November 29, 2007)