Here is the beginning of the article that inspired me to
write my newly released biotech thriller novel – “The True Virus”. In my story,
bioterrorist hack into the DNA component of
the main CIA computer and plant a program
that produces a virulent virus that causes an epidemic in Israel
and Palestine.
Computer Made from DNA and Enzymes
Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News
for National Geographic News
Israeli scientists have devised a
computer that can perform 330 trillion operations per second, more than 100,000
times the speed of the fastest PC. The secret: It runs on DNA .
A year ago, researchers from the Weizmann
Institute of Science in Rehovot , Israel DNA molecules instead of
silicon microchips. Now the team has gone one step further. In the new device,
the single DNA molecule that provides the computer with the
input data also provides all the necessary fuel.
Prologue for “The
True Virus”:
Prologue
The
bright summer sun illuminating the biochemistry laboratory at the Weizmann
Institute in Rehovot, Israel
went unnoticed as both Dr. Abraham Stein and his daughter, Sarah, glared at the
extra long DNA molecule displayed on their
computer monitor. Something had gone wrong. They had never seen results like
this before from their experimental DNA
computer. Pointing at the analyzing computer’s screen, Dr. Stein asked,
"Sarah, what the hell is this?"
"I haven't any idea."
Sarah was momentarily baffled but finally thought of one possibility. "It
must be contamination."
Dr, Stein knew that their DNA
computer only produced short DNA molecules
as an end result for deciphering the binary coded data it received. Being a
biochemist specializing in molecular biology, he was knowledgeable of the
molecular structure of a virus. Shrugging his shoulders in disgust, he said,
"Yes, I agree. This test sample appears to be corrupted with a live
virus."
Before Sarah could respond, Ahmed
Mohanna, a computer graduate student assigned to their project, entered the
lab. Looking back and forth at the worried looks on both Sarah and her father's
faces, he asked, "What's going on?"
Sarah looked up. "Ahmed, I’m
glad you’re here. We need another opinion. It looks like our latest DNA
data is ruined. It appears to be contaminated with a virus."
Stroking his bushy mustache with his
right index finger, Ahmed asked, "How could this have happened? I thought
we took every precaution to avoid any contamination."
Dr. Stein didn’t need to hear this
as he flung his hands into the air. “I know. The last thing we needed was to
have a virus get in and screw things up.”
It was true that they used the most up to date aseptic
techniques within their enclosed biological hood. The test tubes were sealed
with air tight caps. Sarah had to agree with Ahmed that it was next to
impossible to think that their experiment was tainted with a virus. So Sarah stood
aside and watched Ahmed intently as he commented, "You can’t even be sure
that the long DNA molecule is a virus. Maybe
the DNA computer has produced this anomaly
all on its own."
Sarah eyed her father. "Ahmed
could be right. Maybe our computer just mixed up a bunch of DNA
and produced what we see here. It only looks like a virus."
Dr. Stein shook his head indicating
the negative. "Nonsense, that's not how we set up our controlled
experiment."
They all knew that the probability
of a DNA word code being changed into
something that resembled a virus was next to impossible. They were trying to
set up a means where their bio-molecular computer could be used to decipher
encrypted messages. Both Sarah and Ahmed had written a program that allowed the
nanocomputer to search all the possible arrangements of DNA
base pairs in their test tube so it could translate the binary coded word used
for testing. However, Sarah was aware that what they had here defied
experimental logic. "Dad, we have to be open minded here. We are still
only at the early experimental stage of trying to control how our coded input
ends up as DNA output.”
Dr. Stein wouldn’t give up. “It
still looks like a virus to me”.
Ahmed tried to be objective.
"Does it really matter if this is a virus or just a strange looking DNA
molecule which might have been produced by our nanocomputer? We all know that
if we can't make this work, the institute will lose the grant money for this
project.”
Dr. Stein was well aware that the CIA
was banking on this venture to be successful, as he said, “At this point we
have to conclude that it must be accidental contamination. We must review our
procedures and make sure this never occurs again. There is no need to document
this in our official work up. After all, it’s the first time we've seen any
evidence of contamination. We've already had some success. So, let’s just
forget this and start over."
Sarah could not accept this. “Dad,
we can’t forget it. This is the CIA we’re
working with. Our system has to be foolproof.”
Sarah knew there was nothing more to
say as her father sternly looked her in the eye. “Sarah, let it go.”
Here’s a quote from an article that shows that DNA computers could replace computers that depend on silicon chips.
ReplyDeleteSilicon microprocessors have been the heart of the computing world for more than 40 years. In that time, manufacturers have crammed more and more electronic devices onto their microprocessors. In accordance with Moore's Law, the number of electronic devices put on a microprocessor has doubled every 18 months. Moore's Law is named after Intel founder Gordon Moore, who predicted in 1965 that microprocessors would double in complexity every two years. Many have predicted that Moore's Law will soon reach its end, because of the physical speed and miniaturization limitations of silicon microprocessors.
DNA computers have the potential to take computing to new levels, picking up where Moore's Law leaves off. There are several advantages to using DNA instead of silicon:
• As long as there are cellular organisms, there will always be a supply of DNA.
• The large supply of DNA makes it a cheap resource.
• Unlike the toxic materials used to make traditional microprocessors, DNA biochips can be made cleanly.
• DNA computers are many times smaller than today's computers.
DNA's key advantage is that it will make computers smaller than any computer that has come before them, while at the same time holding more data. One pound of DNA has the capacity to store more information than all the electronic computers ever built; and the computing power of a teardrop-sized DNA computer, using the DNA logic gates, will be more powerful than the world's most powerful supercomputer. More than 10 trillion DNA molecules can fit into an area no larger than 1 cubic centimeter (0.06 cubic inches). With this small amount of DNA, a computer would be able to hold 10 terabytes of data, and perform 10 trillion calculations at a time. By adding more DNA, more calculations could be performed.
Unlike conventional computers, DNA computers perform calculations parallel to other calculations. Conventional computers operate linearly, taking on tasks one at a time. It is parallel computing that allows DNA to solve complex mathematical problems in hours, whereas it might take electrical computers hundreds of years to complete them.
The first DNA computers are unlikely to feature word processing, e-mailing and solitaire programs. Instead, their powerful computing power will be used by national governments for cracking secret codes, or by airlines wanting to map more efficient routes.
From article on site “How Stuff Work”:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/dna-computer.htm
Here's another recent article on using DNA as a storage medium.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/this-speck-of-dna-contains-a-movie-a-computer-virus-and-an-amazon-gift-card/518373/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-030217