In the space inside a computer chip, where electricity becomes information, there’s a scientific frontier. The same frontier can be found inside a cell, where information instead takes the form of chemical concentrations. Recent breakthroughs in the field of nonequilibrium statistical physics have revealed vast areas of research lying hidden within the “thermodynamics of computation.” Advances in this field, which involves elements of statistical physics, computer science, cellular biology, and possibly even neurobiology, could have far-reaching consequences for how we understand, and engineer, our computers. To kick-start this line research, Santa Fe Institute scientists and their collaborators have launched an online wiki for collaboration. This week they also published a paper that neatly summarizes recent advances and open questions that pertain to thermodynamics and computation.