Biocomputers: from test tubes to live cells.
Biocomputers are man-made biological networks whose goal is to probe and control biological hosts--cells and organisms--in which they operate. Their key design features, informed by computer science and engineering, are programmability, modularity and versatility. While still a work in progress, biocomputers will eventually enable disease diagnosis and treatment with single-cell precision, lead to "designer" cell functions for biotechnology, and bring about a new generation of biological measurement tools. This review describes the intellectual foundation of the "biocomputer" concept as well as surveys the state of the art in the field.
Benenson
Yaakov
Y
FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. kbenenson@cgr.harvard.edu
D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena; D039301:Computers, Molecular; D008128:Logic; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009696:Nucleic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry
D009696:Nucleic Acids; D011506:Proteins