Those twiddling with the origin of life at the forefront of technology, call it synthetic biology, to use the politically correct words. Some splice genes from other organisms to produce better food products. Others flounder with genes for producing tomatoes that can survive bruises. Many graft jellyfish genes to potatoes to make them glow when they need to be watered. Making completely new organisms from scratch is a simple technique today.
In 2013, the Semiconductor Research Corp., from N.C., started a Semiconductor Synthetic Biology or SSB program to cross human genes and semiconductors. Their aim is to create hybrid computers, something like cyborgs. Although they have progressed far, they have yet to overcome many intermediate hurdles along the way.
Ultimately, they want to make living computers. They intend to make low power biological systems that can process signals much the same way as the human brain can. At present, they are trying to build a CMOS hybrid life form, for which, they are combining CMOS and biological components to allow signal processing and sensing mechanisms.
According to the Director of Cross-Disciplinary Research and Special Projects at SRC, there are several dimensions to the opportunity of using semiconductors in synthetic biology and this could enter various physical directions. He feels that research in SSB will generate a new data explosion – such as big data. It will be important to see how synthetic biology along with semiconductors will handle big data, especially in the science of health and in medical care.
One of the opportunities that can offer proof-of-the-concept is in the form of personalized medicine. This is because it is now possible to sequence the genome of a person – the process generating a vast database of genetic dispositions. Additionally, this also helps in testing the response of an individual to a particular drug in the lab, before it is actually administered.
The SSB program is connecting cells to semiconductor interfaces to read out signals indicating the activities inside a specific cell. In the next step, they intend to design new cells that have characteristics that are more desirable, such as sensitivity to specific substances – making them suitable for use as sensors. Apart from extracting signals from cells, researchers in the program plan to inject signals into cells. Their intention is to generate a two-way communication system, thus creating a hybrid system, half biological and half electronic, which will be capable of processing massive amounts of information; in short, a living computer.
In traditional drug discovery, passive arrays of cells are used. Each of the cells is exposed to a slightly varying drug. A scanner beam, usually a laser, electrically checks each cell and measures its response. That narrows down the drugs that show the maximum promise for further testing. However, the electrical or optical response of a cell to a drug is not a reliable method to capture all the activity within the cell. The SSB program can do that and is about one thousand times faster.
Arrays of sensing pixels can solve the problem, where each pixel measures a different parameter. With the CMOS chip performing a sensor fusion on the results, researchers expect to uncover the complete metabolic response of the cell to a drug.
