Using only biomolecules (such as DNA
and enzymes), scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have
developed and constructed an advanced biological transducer, a computing
machine capable of manipulating genetic codes, and using the output as new
input for subsequent computations. The breakthrough might someday create new
possibilities in biotechnology, including individual gene therapy and cloning.
Interest in such biomolecular
computing devices is strong, mainly because of their ability (unlike electronic
computers) to interact directly with biological systems and even living
organisms. No interface is required since all components of molecular
computers, including hardware, software, input and output, are molecules that
interact in solution along a cascade of programmable chemical events.
"Our results show a novel,
synthetic designed computing machine that computes iteratively and produces
biologically relevant results," says lead researcher Prof. Ehud Keinan of
the Technion Schulich Faculty of Chemistry. "In addition to enhanced
computation power, this DNA-based transducer offers multiple benefits,
including the ability to read and transform genetic information,
miniaturization to the molecular scale, and the aptitude to produce
computational results that interact directly with living organisms."
The transducer could be used on
genetic material to evaluate and detect specific sequences, and to alter and
algorithmically process genetic code. Similar devices, says Prof. Keinan, could
be applied for other computational problems.
"All biological systems, and
even entire living organisms, are natural molecular computers. Every one of us
is a biomolecular computer, that is, a machine in which all components are
molecules "talking" to one another in a logical manner. The hardware
and software are complex biological molecules that activate one another to
carry out some predetermined chemical tasks. The input is a molecule that
undergoes specific, programmed changes, following a specific set of rules
(software) and the output of this chemical computation process is another well
defined molecule."
Also contributing to the research
were postdoctoral fellows Dr. Tamar Ratner and Dr. Ron Piran of the Technion's
Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, and Dr. Natasha Jonoska of the Department of
Mathematics at the University of South Florida.
SOURCE:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130523180318.htm
wow...this is great.
ReplyDeletegreat indeed
Delete