The computers we use every day are the results of nothing more than an incredibly simple premise. Either a bit of information is present or not. These bits of information are traditionally represented by ones and zeroes, though they do not necessarily have to be numerical. It could, in fact, also be applied to chemicals, light, and even biology. In fact scientists are now attempting to develop a system for a biological computer that can process information using bacteria. The computers of tomorrow may not just be built, but actually grown.
One of the advantages of a biological computer, is that such a system would not have a set limit to how much information it could process. If it needed to have more processing power to computer complex equations, the bacteria could be grown and expanded thus giving it more room to interact within itself. But there would be several dilemmas here as well. Just as we have to contend with computer viruses in today’s computers, the force of evolution may make future biological computers unpredictable at times or difficult to control. As software would likely be delivered through the alteration of DNA, it does carry with it the potential for problems if the biological machine were to be placed in an environment where mutations were more likely to occur.
Just recently scientists were able to create a strain of E Coli, once thought simply as the dangerous bacterium discovered to contaminate food supplies, that could solve Sudoku puzzles with greater methodical efficiency than a human being. And then as the system gets more complex, the possibility of other calculations are being considered as well. These incredible micro machines would be capable of performing complex logarithmic mathematical equations using only their DNA to guide them.
Of course there is one inherent disadvantage to using bacteria as a machine. Currently, even microscopic bacteria will be considered far larger than the smallest of circuits. As circuits begin to operate at a size only a few atoms across a piece, it will soon be far smaller than even the most modestly sized bacteria – or even the DNA strands contained within them. As a result, using bacteria as machines purely for computing may actually be a step backward.
But there are benefits to training microbes to behave like computers in their transferring of information. The technology could have applications in agriculture, health, medicine, and the field of biological research. Imagine setting a program into an environment to dispose of dangerous chemicals from a pesticide spill or even curing diseases thought once incurable. The miracles of biology could lead to an increase in crop yield and even combat starvation and disease worldwide. But with the potential benefits, we will also have to weigh this against the possible negative aspects as well. just as the bacteria could be reprogrammed to cure a certain disease, if the “programming” were not just right, it could actually result in new disasters being accidentally introduced to an ecosystem as well.