A friend sent me this link to an article in Science Daily:
"Researchers at UC Riverside have discovered a system to encode digital information within DNA. This method relies on the length of the fragments obtained by the partial restriction digest rather than the actual content of the nucleotide sequence."
The possibilities boggle the mind.
Posted by Inkwell (Member # 1944) on :
This could revolutionize data storage and transfer.
Fascinating.
Inkwell ------------------ "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
It is funny, I have been brainstorming something for a story along these lines. Thanks for the link. I heard on some podcast that they use the same processors as in the PS3 to run those DNA mapping programs. It is fun to write Sci-fi these days.
Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :
Actually I think they are using PS3s, it's the whole simulation focus of the hardware. They even have people farming out their machines when they are in standby mode.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Well, given that digital info breaks down into a bunch of ones and zeros, all that remains is the actual doing of it. From the article, I'm not sure how much info could be stored with this particular process...and I suspect this method of storage can only be played back once rather than be a permanent media. Still, it's a start...
Posted by Lord Darkstorm (Member # 1610) on :
Now, I have to ask. If 97% of our dna is unimportant and can be played with at whim by scientists....why is it there?
I mean, just because they don't see any real purpose for it, doesn't mean there can't be one? What if all that extra information has to do with personality. Once they start writing all kinds of data on it, you become a different person. Write a particular kind of data on it and a person becomes a raving maniac, while writing a different set makes them totally passive.
I could see a new line of science that would specialize in curing humans of their problems by turning them into passive zombies for the elite to control...
You never know....
Posted by rstegman (Member # 3233) on :
If you have programming experiance of any kind, you know that with advanced programs, many subprograms are no longer used. Rather than removing the code from the entire program, they are simply not called. Or, some sub programs are called on extremely rare events. Much of the so-called unused DNA is more like subprograms that might be called under rare conditions or not called any more.
Many parasitical DNA has been injected into our DNA from the time that DNA first appeared in life. We still have diseases doing that. They get into the genetics and are stuck there, possibly never addressed.
I did see that they are finding more of that code is actually being addressed by some processes. I don't remember the details about the article, though.
Posted by Marzo (Member # 5495) on :
I'm trying to think of the applications for this. Other than turning people into giant walking external hard drives, of course.("Let me show you my sweet movie collection!" *plugs finger into socket*)
Any more sciencey types want to take a guess at what this could actually be used for?
Posted by rstegman (Member # 3233) on :
Well, the DNA will likely be in a specialized cell in order to be read and operated on. One might have a "brain" made up of these cells as the super computer running a business or even a city. Of course, there will be diseases that they have to deal with, viruses, viroids, bacteria, germs, etc. A computer system gets a virus would have a similar meaning, even though it is not electronic persay.
One can picture a manmade brain that adds and removes cells to keep the computer up and running properly. Because the computers will have systems to prevent damage due to environment, someo f those protections might go wrong and one ends up with a tumor. cells growing fast giving improper data as they grow. Memory cells, since complex calculations require memory being held for later, might be compromised. They may have to cut out entire sections of the brain to get rid of the cells that are copying wrong.
Oh, one thing to keep in mind about DNA. The DNA is not a straight string. Instead, it is folded and curled. The non used sections may be there just to hold the proper sections of dna out where they can be read by RNA and other compounds. Just a thought.
diseases that biological processors might deal with might be transferred through the solutions used to feed them. Consider if a manufacturer hired someone for just a day and decided he was not right for the company. If that person was involved in the process of creating or filtering the food, a batch or two of contaminated foods might go out. The biological processors might run into problems that might last for a long time. Consider also, if someone got into the food that did damage intentionally.