OLYMPUS TECHNOZONE Vol.66 2005-12
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The ultimate DNA computers will provide intelligent treatment inside individual cells
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What is your ultimate vision for DNA computers?
I believe that DNA computers will eventually
be introduced into cells as genes and operated within cells. Research
for this purpose is already underway.
I see. So this is a different concept from
gene transfer and genetic recombination?
We would use similar element technologies,
but we have yet to work out how to promote the process.
So it would actually be possible to control
biological reactions inside the body?
The ultimate DNA computers, designed to work
within cells, would automatically detect the causes of diseases
and carry out the necessary computations to determine the appropriate
remedy. They would treat diseases by activating the required genetic
switches.
We have only just begun to use gene therapy
to treat hereditary conditions caused by individual genes. As you
have just said, in the future it will be possible to apply this
technology to the treatment of disorders involving multiple genes,
such as cancer and lifestyle diseases.
That's right. We would be able to perform
extremely intelligent therapies. They would be highly effective
and cause minimal side-effects. They would work in the same way
as the molecular computers that we call living organisms.
Amazing! The preliminary to that technology
will be the ability to implement DNA computing on a silicon chip.
When do you think we will reach that stage?
I believe that will be possible within five
years at most.
That soon?
Absolutely! We already have the element technologies.
We just didn't think of that. |
