A team of researchers from the ETH Zurich in Switzerland (ETH Zurich) the first ever biosynthetic dual-core processor in a human cell. To do this, they used the CRISPR-Cas9 method, which is widely used in genetic engineering, when Cas9 proteins modify, remember or check foreign DNA with the help of controlled and, one might say, programmed actions. And since actions can be programmed, why not modify the CRISPR method to work similarly to digital gates?
Swiss scientists, led by project leader Professor Martin Fussenegger, were able to insert two CRISPR DNA sequences from two different bacteria into a human cell. Under the influence of the Cas9 protein and depending on the RNA chains supplied to the cell, each of the sequences produced its own unique protein. Thus, the so-called controlled gene expression took place, when, on the basis of the information recorded in DNA, a certain new product is created - a protein or RNA. By analogy with digital networks, the process developed by Swiss scientists can be represented as a logical half-adder with two inputs and two outputs. The output signal (protein variant) depends on two input signals.
Biological processes in living cells cannot be compared with digital computing circuits in terms of speed. But cells can operate with the highest degree of parallelism, processing up to 100 molecules at a time. Imagine living tissue with millions of dual-core "processors". Such a computer can provide impressive performance even by today's standards. But even if we put aside the creation of βuprightβ supercomputers, artificial logic blocks built into the human body can help in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, including cancer.
Such blocks can process biological information in the human body as input and generate both diagnostic signals and pharmacological sequences. In the event of the onset of the process of the appearance of metastases, for example, artificial logical circuits could begin to produce enzymes that suppress oncological phenomena. There are many applications for this phenomenon, and the implementation can change a person and the world.
Source: 3dnews.ru