The body logic

Abstract

DNA computing has been hailed as a possible alternative to semiconductor technology. DNA has a specific appeal to the medical world because it speaks the same language as living cells. This raises the intriguing possibility that DNA-based computers could operate in the bloodstream or in specific organs or tissues to diagnose and treat disease. A more advanced sort of DNA-based computer might combine logic gates with moving elements so that it could sense, compute, and move. "For treating diabetes, it might be useful to move such a DNA-based molecule into a new area which needs insulin. The researchers are developing a new way of talking about and understanding the circuit-like mechanisms that regulate critical processes in real living cells.