TECHNION-ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, HAIFA, ISRAEL. Scientists were able to develop and construct an advanced biological transducer made out of biomolecules such as DNA and enzymes. It is a type of computing machine which is capable of controlling genetics codes. At the same time, it is capable of using the output as new input for subsequent computations.

Biomolecular computing devices are more preferred over electronic computers for their ability to interact directly with biological systems and even living organisms. Since all components of molecular computers are molecules that interact in solution easily, it doesn’t require any interface anymore. That includes hardware, software, input and output.

Prof. Ehud Keinan of the Technion Schulich Faculty of Chemistry is the study’s lead researcher. He claims that their results show a novel, synthetic designed computing machine that computes iteratively and produces biologically relevant results. He also added that 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.

Prof. Ehud Keinan also explained that 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. Similar devices could also be applied for other computational problems.

With the positive results that they are getting, they are seeing that this breakthrough could create new possibilities in biotechnology which could possibly include individual gene therapy and even cloning in the near future.