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BIOCOMPUTING
Bio computing is the construction and use of computers that functions like living things
or having biological components such as DNA. Bio computing is also used in
bioinformatics to assist the biological research. Bio computing uses Bio computers which
uses biologically derived molecules such as Proteins and DNA. These are used for
computational calculations including data storage, data retrieve, data processing etc.
The concept of bio computing was first suggested by Tom Knight of MIT Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory. He suggested the use of proteins as binary signals for logical
operations. At a particular concentration of a bio material, it indicates logic 1 and below
that particular concentration, it indicates logic 0.Using this concept, bio computer can
perform logical operations. A particular logical output appears when a specific initial
condition is used as input.
The development of biotechnology has been made possible by the development of
Nano biotechnology. Nanobiotechnology is based on the use of nano scale materials
having a diameter of 1 to 100 nano meters .Nano biotechnology is mainly focusing on
the design and engineering of proteins that can be assembled into functional structures.
The implementation of nano biotechnology helped scientists to engineer biomolecules
that behave like the computational functionality of a computer.
The research of bio computers is growing fast and it uses the nano sized bio materials to
create various types of computational devices. These have potential applications in the
field of science especially in medical research, biotechnology and bioinformatics. If bio
computer technology becomes a success, it will be the cheapest and energy efficient
one in future.
Concept behind Bio computers
Bio computers use biologically active materials to perform functions like a computer.
The bio computer system consists of biological pathways that engineered like the input
devices of the computer. The resulting biological pathways behave like the output
devices. The output can be interpreted as a form of computational analysis. Researches
are going on to develop three important categories of bio computers.
1. Bio chemical computer
Biochemical computer uses the feedback loop of the chemical reactions to get
the computational functionality. The biofeedback mechanism is responsible for
accelerating or inhibiting the biochemical reactions. These positive and negative
feedback systems regulate the biological functions by producing chemical
outputs. The feedback mechanisms involve a number of molecules including
enzymes that alter the chemical reactivity of the molecules. It is possible to
engineer a chemical pathway comprising a set of molecules that combine to form
a product in one condition and another product in a different condition. The
product then act as a signal that can be interpreted as a computational output by
taking the starting biomolecules as the input signal.
2. Bio mechanical Computer
Biomechanical computer is almost similar to bio chemical computer and uses the
same mechanism to give an output for computational analysis using specific
conditions as input. The major difference between the biochemical and bio
mechanical computer is that the biochemical computer uses a chemical substance
as output signal while the bio mechanical computer uses the mechanical shape of
the output material for computational analysis. Bio mechanical computer rely on
the physical configuration of certain biomolecules in special chemical
environment. The three dimensional structure of the output material is detected
and interpreted by the bio mechanical computer.
3. Bio electronic computer
These can be constructed for electronic computing. In bio electronic computer
also the specific output based on the initial input conditions is used for
computation. But the output is measured in the form of electrical conductivity.
The bio electronic computer uses specific biomolecules having specific electrical
conductivity based on initial input conditions.
Biomolecules in Bio computing
Proteins and DNA molecules are primarily used in bio computing. To create the bio
computing system, nano biotechnology is used. The proteins are composed of Amino
acids which form chemical basis of particular proteins. These “Magic 20” determines the
structure and functional peculiarity of the proteins. Similarly the nucleotide sequence of
DNA determines the functional nature of DNA. The information encoded in the
nucleotide sequences of the DNA are translated into the language of proteins
(arrangement of amino acids) during protein synthesis. The polypeptides formed by
joining the aminoacids then become the functional protein. The bio computing uses the
engineered DNA capable of encoding information for a specific protein. Synthetic DNA
can be produced to function as a bio computer. Thus by using the nano biotechnology, it
is possible to create synthetic proteins and DNA to function as a bio computer. One of
the well known examples is the production of “Computational Genes”.
Human Bio computer
It is the anatomical structure such as brain, heart, hormone system etc that are
functioning in a well defined manner similar to a computer. The term Human bio
computer was coined by John.C.Lilly and he compared the organ systems of the body
similar to the hardware of the computer and brain signals as software.
Different types of simple bio computers have been designed but their ability of
computational analysis is still premature compared to a computer. But there is great
scope in future to use biological materials for computational analysis since these are rich
in nature and the cheapest source of molecules.
D.Mohankumar
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