DNA
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Mini DNA replicator costs $10
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
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
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
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
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]
