Tech
Center
Israeli Scientists Use Living Cells To
Make Microscopic 'Computer'
Associated
Press
JERUSALEM -- Using one trillion living cells, a group of
scientists have developed a computing device so small it can
fit in a drop of water, an Israeli university announced.
The microscopic computer uses enzymes as hardware, which in
turn manipulate DNA molecules as software, creating a single
mathematical computing machine, called a finite automaton.
The "biological nanocomputer" was created by a group of
scientists headed by Ehud Shapiro, a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science, which
announced the development.
"The living cell contains incredible molecular machines
that manipulate information-encoding molecules ... in ways
that are fundamentally very similar to computation," Mr.
Shapiro said.
Another expert expressed both caution and optimism.
"Using the term 'computer' is actually a bit misleading,"
said professor Naftali Tishbi of the Hebrew University, a
scientist familiar with the group's work.
Mr. Tishbi defined the cells as automatons, meaning they
operate according to preset reactions, but he said the
invention is "a very exciting step toward plausible DNA
computing."
The creators of the device said that the trillion cells,
acting together, can perform a billion operations per second,
with 99.8% accuracy. The trillion cells require less than a
billionth of a watt of power to operate.
Although the nanocomputer doesn't have any practical use at
the moment, scientists claim it has enormous potential. "Such
a future computer could sense an abnormal biochemical change
in the body and decide how to correct it by synthesizing and
releasing the necessary drug," said professor Zvi Livneh, a
DNA expert at the Weizmann
Institute.
Mr. Tishbi said the automatons could soon prove to be
useful by detecting anomalies while operating within human
DNA.
Copyright © 2001 Associated Press
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