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This is one of those ideas, which sounds crazy on hearing it for the first time, how about
bacterial protein memory for computers!!??? Though it has a long way to go, scientists have
taken the first few initial steps in this direction. Molecular switches, if turned into reality, will
offer an appreciable decrease in the hard ware size and an increase in the speed.
Several biological molecules are being considered for this purpose but the bacterial
protein bacteriohodopsin (bR) has generated much interest among scientists. It is a light
harvesting bacterial protein and is the basic unit of protein memory. It functions like a light
driven photo pump. The bacteria grow in salt marshes where the temperature exceeds 150 deg
f.
Bacteriohodopsin comprises a light‐absorbing component known as chromophore that
absorbs light energy and triggers a series of complex internal structural changes to alter the
proteins optical and electrical characteristics. The initial resting state of the molecule is known
as bR. Green light transforms it into intermediate state k, and after a series of such
intermediate states, it forms a stable state q. here the idea is to assign any 2 long lasting states
to the binary values of ‘1” and “0” to store the required info.
Initially these operations could be performed only at extreme cold temperatures of
liquid nitrogen. Then it was found to have much higher speed than semiconductor devices as
they had the speed of a few trillionth of a second.
If a number of bacteriohodops in molecules are arranged in a three dimensional fashion,
high speed, high density, low cost memories with vast capacities that can handle large volumes
of data can be realized. Such memories offer 300‐fold improvement in storage capacity over
their 2D counterparts. Read/write operation can be performed with the help of coloured lasers
that are fixed at such points as to direct the beams through the required points in the plane of
the cube. The speed of these memories would depend on the number of cubes operating in
parallel
Retrieval of stored data is carried out in a manner similar to storing the information,
except that a detector images the light passing through the memory cube and senses 1’s and
0’s. Here the property of selective absorption of red light by its intermediate state “o”. The
detector senses the luminescent power falling upon it and converts the variations of optical
power into correspondingly varying electric current. Advantages of this technology would of
course be enormous access, manipulation and storage in minimal time also, unlike dick
memories where the physical contact with the magnetic head is required to read or write info,
protein memory would use laser which would reduces wear and tear.
2) Another one of those crazy ideas has resulted in the treatment for burns victims or
patients with severe damage or disfigurement, thanks to materials research. Scientists at
university of Manchester have discovered a way to create made to measure human skin. They
put the exact dimensions needed for the tissue on a computer and then used special inkjet
printers which are of about the size of 3 filing cabinets to create a 3D structure which is called
as scaffold. The scaffolds shape determines the shape of the tissues. They are created by
printing many thin layers of a particular material (plastics) on top of each other. The cells are
fed into the printer where they are suspended in a nutrient rich liquid, which can be compared
to the ink. Then the cells are seeded directly into the structure as it is built. Once the new piece
of tissue is in place the body’s natural healing process begins and the plastic scaffolding
dissolves.
3) Scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University have created new nanno fibre mat
that could eventually become a natural bandage. Spun from strands of fibrinogen 1000 times
thinner than human hair, could be placed on a wound and never be taken of‐ minimizing blood
loss and encouraging natural healing process. It would hasten the clotting process and
eventually be absorbed by the body. It could be used from a minor cut to a battlefield wound,
where it is vital to stop bleeding immediately while waiting for transport to a distant hospital. It
works very similarly to the natural way of clotting, hence the body sees it to be its own, and not
as an external material.
Let us hope that these new technologies become commercially viable on a large scale.
Along with that let us also hope that today’s evils like the spurious drug industry, which today in
India alone has about 20% of the total drug market shares (i.e. about 4000 crores) cease to exist
in tomorrows world. Can u believe that 1 out 5 is a spurious drug and 7 out of 10 causes drug
resistance in patients due to inadequate potency?