According to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the day is not far when we will have biological computing devices, by combining bioscience and computer science. Scientists envisage the bio IoT devices that could replace the latest devices that contain silicon microprocessors and microchips.
Different research papers of genetics show that every living organism consists of DNA or Deoxyribonucleic acid, the strings of which contain a hefty amount of data. Those data can remain intact for thousands of years through which we can get much information. Another research paper recovers data from a Siberian human femur bone which is around 45,000 years old the DNA was decoded about a couple of years ago. Scientists have recovered various remarkable data about the very environment.
Scientists are researching on designing synthetic DNA which can store large quantities of data for a long period. The team of scientists from Microsoft and the University of Washington has announced success in the making of biocomputing devices. In 2018 their biocomputing devices were able to store around 200 MB data in DNA. Moreover, they retrieved those data without facing a single error.
Since then, scientists are continuously working on replacing computing devices with bio IoT devices. They are very hopeful regarding success in designing the bio IoT devices. Queen Mary University, London are researching using various microbes to a network that can communicate at the nanoscale.
In 2019, Scientist Raphael Kim and Stefan Poslad released a paper titled: The Thing With E.Coli: Highlighting Opportunities and Challenges of Integrating Bacteria in IoT and HCI’’. It explained the autonomous nature of bacteria has huge potential in keeping and communication minute sized information
without error. The flagella (a whip-like structure which is composed of microtubules) of these bacteria take that information forward.
Though the research is at its early stage but there is a great possibility in changing the future of computing with the microbes. Scientists are planning to deploy these bio IoT devices in the sea and in the smart cities to mitigate toxins and pollutants. They can also undertake the bio mediation process by gathering data from the immediate environment.
They are also exploring opportunities in the health sector, where bacteria could be used to treat complicated devices. They can be deployed at various stages of the disease to release encoded hormones which can heal the body at that particular stage. The whole process will be triggered by the internal sensor of the selected microbes.
The microbes have special communication abilities that can easily outperform the latest sensor devices. The outstanding chemical sensing of these bacteria with the utmost precision makes them standout. Besides detecting chemicals, they can also detect electromagnetic fields, temperature, light, stress and various other parameters, which is usually done by IoT embedded devices. If needed, the bacteria can respond using their flagella and through the generation of different coloured proteins.
Through the research, scientists have shown bacteria are sometimes one step ahead than the electronic devices. They are much more sensible and responsive than tradition microchipped devices. This hand full of qualities make them not only superior but also precious in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) field. The programmed DNA process the micro information just like the IoT sensor devices. They also collect, store and process data through smaller circular plasmids, which determine the process functions through the addition and subtraction of various information strands of the gene.
The Queen Mary University Team suggests the cellular membrane functions together with the transceiver seamlessly perform transmission and reception which is responsible for 100% accurate communications. The DNA exchange happens through the molecular communication of these bacteria which perform just like a digital unit.
The scientists have named this research as digital-to-DNA data and DNA-to-Digital data, vice versa. The main idea is to utilize bacteria to create an environment where bacteria can communicate through nanoscale and biological entities. One of the most interesting parts of this research is the scientist have termed as a DIY (do it yourself) technology to promote the IoBNT. The device can be created easily with the Amino Labs Kit which is easily available in the chemical shops; moreover, it is affordable too. With that tool, one can perform various bioengineering experiments such as the generation of various colors from bacteria etc.
If researchers want to experiment in manipulating genetically modified E. coli bacteria, this kit easily enables them in doing that. Every day various scientists coming forward with their experiment in the field of biocomputing devices. Their hard work shows how the devices can improve our quality of life by mitigating various diseases without spending much.
In 4IR biotechnology and bioengineering are considered as the major building blocks. Future scientists can learn about the technique with the help of DIY techniques and bio-kits. For scientists, it is not less than an adventure as they quote: ‘Today’s adventurers in science create tomorrow’s innovators’.
Tanaya is a Senior Content Developer at IoT Avenue who helped to build the content of the site along with several other sites with her compassionate SEO driven content. She is also a HubSpot, certified Content Marketer. She brings her five years of experience to her current role, where she is dedicated to developing the content of different websites.
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