Science lately is blurring the line between biology and technology.
Harvard has made two startlingly large advances recently: they managed
to use DNA to store 700 terabytes of data, and they have created synthetic (read: cyborg) flesh.
DNA is essentially the original computer code: it stores complex
information in different arrangements of four different molecules,
called A, G, C, and T for simplicity. Scientists assigned zeroes and
ones to these letters to simulate binary code, the language on which
computers run. Using this makeshift binary code, they were able to store
700 terabytes in just one gram of DNA (for comparison, the first 4
terabyte hard drive for computers was just manufactured in 2011, and the
average MacBook Pro has less than one terabyte of hard drive space).
Along with this new DNA-as-disk-drive ability, Harvard also melded
electronics with living cells to create honest-to-God cyborg flesh. The
human body reacts to electrical impulses fired by the brain, something
loosely replicated by these part-biological, part-technological tissue
cultures. While the half-organic tissue can’t yet react to the
electrical impulses, the technology allows for close monitoring of the
tissue. The short term implications are earlier warning for medical
conditions caused by inflammation, monitoring pre-cancerous cells, or
even tracking drug absorption and measuring the effectiveness of
medications. The long-term implications are on a much grander scale.
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