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IBM's ultra-cheap DNA Transistor dream could lead to personalized medicines, confusion

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2009 at 9:45AM

Are you ready to get your nerd on? No, seriously -- are your rimmed glasses and pressed slacks at the ready? Good. IBM has just announced a full-on research project that intends to drive the cost of DNA sequencing down from millions of dollars to under $1,000. The reason? An ultra-cheap, silicon-based DNA Transistor could essentially "pave the way to read human DNA easily and quickly, generating advancements in health condition diagnosis and treatment." Moreover, it could eventually lead to personalized genome analysis and personalized medicines, meaning that your weekly dose of pills may literally have your name written on them. Just think -- with this breakthrough in place, you might just live long enough to see the Robot Apocalypse. Fun! Video's after the break.

[Via NY Times, thanks Serge]

Continue reading IBM's ultra-cheap DNA Transistor dream could lead to personalized medicines, confusion

IBM studying 'DNA origami' to build next-gen microchips, paralyze world with fear

by Darren Murph posted Aug 17th 2009 at 10:51AM


IBM is already making a beeline to 28nm process technology, but it looks like the train may deviate a bit before it even reaches the bottom. Reportedly, the company responsible for PowerPC, the original business laptop and all sorts of underground things that we'll never comprehend is now looking to use DNA as a model for crafting the world's next great processor. DNA origami, as it's so tactfully called, can supposedly provide a cheap framework "on which to build tiny microchips," with IBM research manager Spike Narayan proclaiming that this is "the first demonstration of using biological molecules to help with processing in the semiconductor industry." Sir Spike also noted that "if the DNA origami process scales to production-level, manufacturers could trade hundreds of millions of dollars in complex tools for less than a million dollars of polymers, DNA solutions, and heating implements." The actual process still seems murky from here, but we're told to expect real results within ten years. Which should be just in time for the robot apocalypse to really hit its stride -- awesome.

[Via HotHardware]

DNA computer solves logical problems, inches closer to practical use

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 10th 2009 at 12:06PM

The world of biomolecular computing is hardly a lonely place: bacteria, enzymes, and all manner of chemicals have already been used to perform basic automated tasks. DNA computers are arguably the most advanced organic form of "autonomous programmable computing devices," with one already boasting a pretty tight game of Tic-Tac-Toe. The latest, put together by the Israeli Weizmann Institute, advances things with its ability to correctly respond to problems of logic. By feeding molecular rules and facts into the system, the researchers are able to program DNA strands to produce yes and no answers to basic questions. Programming is said to be technically identical to that used in electronic devices, with a robot compiler converting the programming language into molecular-level information. The ultimate aim of the project is to produce miniscule disease-fighting bots that can battle infections within the human body -- provided the DNA-programming drones don't go all Yul Brynner on us.

[Thanks, Karl]

Time names the 23andMe retail DNA test 'Invention of the Year'

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 10:59PM


Time Magazine has released its annual Best Inventions issue, and topping the list is the 23andMe retail DNA test, a kit which which offers consumers 23 clinical reports on their genetic risk for everything from Psoriasis to Prostate Cancer. It may not be as well known as last year's iPhone (or YouTube the year before that), but the $399 package might signal a significant revolution in preventative medicine... or it might bring mankind a disturbing new form of eugenics. Whatever you use it for, the process couldn't be easier: the kit comes with a tube that you spit in and mail back to the company, which in a mere 4 - 6 weeks will notify you that testing is complete. As you wait for the results to be posted online you might want to spend some time contemplating the ethical dilemmas posed by this technology.

Biosensing nanodevice could hasten security checks, health screenings

by Darren Murph posted Mar 30th 2008 at 12:13AM

We'll go ahead and warn you: if you're hoping to purge your mind of all things science this weekend, this post isn't the one to be reading. For the rest of you knowledge seekers, Arizona State University researcher Wayne Frasch has developed a biosensing nanodevice that could possibly revolutionize health screenings and speed up that grueling airport security process. Put simply (well, as simply as possible), he discovered that the enzyme F1– ATPase can be equipped with an optical probe and "manipulated to emit a signal when it detects a single molecule of target DNA." Currently, a prototype of the DNA detector is already being worked up, but there's no word on when (or if) the device will escape the lab and hit the commercial realm. Still not geeked out? Hit the read link and hold on for dear life.

[Via Physorg]

NTT DoCoMo hopes to diagnose disease, predict other misfortunes from cellphones

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 27th 2008 at 8:17AM


We like to think that NTT, Japan's dominant telephone company, is a serious corporation. So when NTT DoCoMo issues a press release claiming to have successfully demonstrated the world's first "molecular delivery system for molecular communication," we figure this must be significant. The technology and biochemistry at the foundation sure seems to be. In an experiment, NTT DoCoMo confirmed the use of synthesized DNA to transport specific molecules through the body. The process converts chemical energy into mechanical work so there's no need for an external power supply or control mechanism. The hope then is to one day plant a "biochip" in a cellphone which can read "excitement, emotion, stress or disease" from the simmering juices (blood, sweat and tears) pooled inside the meatsicles of "living organisms." This is where things start to fall apart. Seeing as how this is Japan, that ambiguous target audience means you and your pets. Robots too, just as soon as they get skin. And when the English press release claims that a bio-chipped phone could be applicable to "fortune telling" -- well, we've lost all hope.

[Thanks, StopSpamming]

DNA "pistons" could power nanoscale robots

by Paul Miller posted Feb 5th 2008 at 2:05PM


While we've been spending our days padding our Xbox 360 Achievements and building castles out of Popsicle sticks, here come some science jerks all making us look bad. Researchers in the UK and Germany have managed to assemble tetrahedrons out of DNA "struts" with some chemical trickery, and then fed the shape DNA "fuel" to get the tetrahedron to contract. Some "anti-fuel" expands the shape again, creating a sort of piston with all sorts of potential. The researchers are currently working to assemble larger structures using the tetrahedrons as building blocks. Possible applications of the technology range from drug delivery to the motors of nanoscale robots, and it sounds like humanity is doomed either way.

DNA Direct shrink wraps DNA for future forensics

by Darren Murph posted Dec 7th 2007 at 2:59PM


Everyone could have their reasons for wanting to hold tight to a chunk of their DNA, and while many may just be creeped out by the whole premise, DNA Direct is offering those in the former camp an option. The outfit's DNA Archive enables customers to "store DNA in the safety and privacy of their own home" by mailing off a cheek (the one on your face, dur) swab full of double helices, which are then "shrink wrapped" using SampleMatrix technology and redelivered to the owner in lab-quality tubes and UV-resistant packaging. Should you wish to reconstitute the sample, just add a few drops of water and watch the magic take place. Three samples are included with each kit, so you can hide 'em away in varying locales if your situation necessitates such a dramatic action. The pain? $175.

[Via TGDaily]

NEC develops portable DNA analyzer

by Conrad Quilty-Harper posted Oct 16th 2007 at 11:01AM


NEC has developed what it calls the first portable DNA analyzer -- with "portable" being classified as a briefcase half a meter wide -- that integrates all five stages in the DNA analysis process. Designed to speed up criminal investigations and aid crime prevention, the technology can fully analyze DNA within 25 minutes. Heading for full production in 2008, it should be ready in preparation for any GATTACA-style societies that have appeared by next year.

Spartan DX personal DNA tester goes for a mere $15k

by Paul Miller posted Jun 13th 2007 at 12:18PM

Just we always wanted, a DNA tester to call our very own! We've been waiting for them to break that crucial $15k pricepoint, and now Spartan Bioscience has finally accomplished such a feat with its Spartan DX Personal DNA Analyzer. The thing can do 4 samples at a time, and takes about 30 minutes to run a Polymerase Chain Reaction to identify the perp. Unfortunately, Spartan claims the device isn't approved for anything beyond research use, but that shouldn't stop us from doing a bit of home-based forensics: no more name calling, we'll know once and for all who stole the cookie from the Engadget HQ cookie jar.

[Via Gadget Lab]

Mini DNA replicator costs $10

by Paul Miller posted May 4th 2007 at 9:45AM


If we had a dime for every time we've been lounging around the HQ, thinking to ourselves about how much easier life would be with a DNA replicator of our very own, we could probably afford one of these $10 DIY versions. Some researchers at Texas A&M University have applied lava lamp-esque convection flow technology to the previously complicated, large and expensive field of DNA replication, with this pocket-sized replicator. The unit costs $10 to make and has no moving parts. To generate billions of identical DNA copies, it runs "polymerase chain reactions" by treating DNA at three different temperatures, running DNA-filled fluid through a tube wrapped around three metal rods heated to the different necessary temperatures. Doesn't sound too exciting when you put it that way, but the device should pave the way for DNA and RNA tests for HIV levels or tuberculosis diagnosis in developing countries.

[Via Digg]

Caltech scientists build DNA logic circuits that run in a test tube

by Cyrus Farivar posted Dec 9th 2006 at 1:59AM

We've seen DNA logic before (remember the MAYA-II, the DNA computer that could play tic-tac-toe?), but a new variety at Caltech has created a set of circuits that can work in salt water, possibly paving the way for cell-based computers. The researchers created a small series of circuits and included gates to perform all the binary logic functions: AND, OR, and NOT. Each gate, a set of DNA strands, receives DNA molecules as input and spits out different ones as output. They've succeeded in building 12 gates in a cascade five layers deep -- pretty simple compared to your average microchip, but nonetheless pretty impressive. Ok Caltech, we'll let your computer partner up with MAYA-II and we'll take 'em both on in a game of competitive Sudoku, how's that?

Biohazard watch detects aliens, consumers of gimmicky timepieces

by Darren Murph posted Dec 7th 2006 at 9:10PM

We've seen our fair share of questionably designed watches (and extraterrestrial detection devices, too), but the Biohazard timepiece takes this alien watchdog stuff to another level. Sure, the solid stainless steel design and squared motif isn't the hippest thing to fly out of Japan, but the overall aesthetics still top some wrist adornments out there, and its functionality isn't half bad either. The company makes no bones about informing you that the "red and white DNA helix bars" are actually not registering levels of alien activity around you, but rather spell out the time via colored blocks, and the date via an "alien DNA percentage" meter. Aside from fooling your friends into believing that ET resides in your guest room, this thing actually performs the single most important duty a watch is supposed to accomplish, and it can be yours for (an admittedly steep) ¥15,900 ($138).

[Via BoingBoing]

Meet MAYA-II, the new DNA computer that can play Tic-Tac-Toe

by Cyrus Farivar posted Oct 16th 2006 at 8:20PM

While strands of DNA may be able to pick fights with other strands, one thing that they can't do yet is play computer games -- that is, until now. In what appears to be an early proof-of-concept for DNA computing, scientists at Columbia University and the University of New Mexico have created a basic computer, called the MAYA-II, which has a molecular array of YES and AND logic gates made up of 100 DNA circuits. This allows the MAYA-II to play a complete game of Tic-Tac-Toe against a human opponent, and apparently nearly always win. However, this isn't exactly a fair test, given that the MAYA-II always goes first, and always opens with the center square. Still, even though each move takes 30 minutes to complete, the lead researcher on the project, Dr. Joanna Macdonald of Columbia, says that a DNA computer would be perfect for injection into human subjects to combat disease, because in theory, it would be able to "diagnose and kill cancerous cells or monitor and treat diabetes by dispensing insulin when needed." Useful applications aside, we're ready to take on the MAYA-II in Connect Four whenever Dr. Macdonald thinks it's ready.

[Via MedGadget]

Protein-coated discs could enable 50TB capacities

by Evan Blass posted Jul 12th 2006 at 9:55AM

We know that it shouldn't come as a shock anymore when researchers announce new storage technologies that promise to hold tantalizingly large amounts of data, but we were still pretty stoked to learn that a recent breakthrough at Harvard Medical School may eventually lead to DVD-size discs whose capacities approach an eye-popping 50TB. Unlike traditional optical or magnetic solutions, the disc developed by Professor V Renugopalakrishnan and his colleagues is coated with thousands of light-activated proteins called bacteriorhodopsin which are found in the membrane of a particular salt marsh microbe -- and which temporarily convert to a series of intermediate molecules when exposed to sunlight. That property allows the proteins to act as individual bits in a binary system, but since they have a tendency to return to their grounded state after mere hours or days, Renugopalakrishnan and his team modified the requisite microbes' DNA to produce proteins capable of maintaining that intermediary state for several years. Unfortunately we won't see this technology come to market anytime soon, and even when it does, 50TB capacities will still be a ways off, so it looks like we'll have to settle for those disappointing 200GB Blu-ray discs for the foreseeable future.

[Via Gotakon]
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