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| Biological Computers |
Biological Computers
Building blocks of human body will serve as a model for the new microprocessors of International Business Machines Corp. Biological computers have emerged as an interdisciplinary field that draws together molecular biology, chemistry, computer science and mathematics. The highly predictable hybridization chemistry of DNA, the ability to completely control the length and content of oligonucleotides , and the wealth of enzymes available for modification of the DNA, make the use of nucleic acids an attractive candidate for all of these nanoscale applications.Scientists have previously used DNA computers to crack computational problems with up to nine variables, which involves selecting the correct answer from 512 possible solutions. But now Adleman's team has shown that a similar technique can solve a problem with 20 variables, which has 220 - or 1 048 576 - possible solutions.
Although IBM makes microchips, Allen said the company, which has been working on the DNA concept for several years, may wind up licensing the technology to others. Hoping to one day use DNA to make microchips with vastly smaller components than is possible today, scientists with IBM in San Jose and the California Institute of Technology said Monday that they have for the first time coaxed manipulated shapes of the genetic material to collect on specific areas of a silicon wafer. Caltech researcher Paul Rothmund, who participated in the experiment, previously had formed DNA into triangles and other shapes he termed "origami." But no one previously had gotten those shapes to align themselves in ways that could be useful in designing semiconductors, said Robert Allen, senior manager of chemistry and functional materials at IBM's Almaden Research Center.
The world's smallest computer (around a trillion can fit in a drop of water) might one day go on record again as the tiniest medical kit. Made entirely of biological molecules, this computer was successfully programmed to identify - in a test tube - changes in the balance of molecules in the body that indicate the presence of certain cancers, to diagnose the type of cancer, and to react by producing a drug molecule to fight the cancer cells.
To move on to the second clause of the formula, a fresh set of long strands was sent into the second cell, which trapped any long strand with a 'subsequence' complementary to all three of its short strands. This process was repeated until a complete set of long strands had been added to all 24 cells, corresponding to the 24 clauses. The long strands captured in the cells were collected at the end of the experiment, and these represented the solution to the problem.
More reading, please visit:
http://www.mi2g.comwww.siliconvalley.com/ci_13146256?source=most_emailed
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/aug/17/ibm-dna-microchips
