“生物计算机”建造有望成真 可“漫步”人体(图)

　　Scientists are one step closer to making a biological computer after building basic components for digital devices out of bacteria and DNA. Some scientists believe that, in the future, small biological computers could roam our bodies monitoring our health and correcting any problems they find.

　　建立由细菌和DNA组成的数字装置基本组成后，科学家们离制作出生物计算机更近了一步。一些科学家相信,在未来,小型生物计算机可能“漫步”于我们的身体中来监测我们的健康,修正它们发现的任何问题。

　　Researchers from Imperial College London have demonstrated they can build the 'logic gates' which are the building blocks of today's microprocessors.

　　伦敦大学帝国理工学院的研究人员已经证明了他们能建立“逻辑门”，这是今日微处理器的建筑模块。

　　Professor Richard Kitney said: 'Logic gates are the fundamental building blocks in silicon circuitry that our entire digital age is based on. Without them, we could not process digital information. Now that we have demonstrated we can replicate these parts using bacteria and DNA, we hope that our work could lead to a new generation of biological processors, whose applications in information processing could be as important as their electronic equivalents.'

　　Richard Kitney教授说：“‘逻辑门’是硅电路的基础建筑模块，我们整个数字时代都是以它为根基的。如果没有他们,我们无法处理数字信息。现在,我们已经证明可以利用细菌和DNA复制这些零件，我们希望我们的工作可以通向新一代生物处理器，其信息处理应用程序可能和他们的电子同行一样重要。”

　　Although still a long way off, the team suggests these biological logic gates could one day form the building blocks in microscopic biological computers.

　　尽管仍然有很长的一段路要走，研究小组提出，这些生物“逻辑门”有一天能在微观生物计算机中构建建筑模块。

　　Devices may include sensors that swim inside arteries, detecting the build up of harmful plaque and rapidly delivering medications to the affected area. Other applications may include sensors that detect and destroy cancer cells inside the body and pollution monitors that can be deployed in the environment, detecting and neutralising dangerous toxins such as arsenic.

　　装置可能包括可以在动脉中游动的传感器,检测有害蚀斑的增长，并且迅速将药物提供给感染区。其它应用可能包括检测和摧毁体内癌细胞的传感器, 还有能被部署在外界环境的污染监控器，用来检测和中和危险的毒素，比如说砒霜。

　　The new biological gates are also modular, which means that they can be fitted together to make different types of logic gates, paving the way for more complex biological processors to be built in the future.

　　新的生物门也可模块化，这意味着它们能被组装在一起制作不同类型的“逻辑门”，为未来更复杂的生物处理机铺平道路。

　　The next stage of the research will see the team trying to develop more complex circuitry that comprises multiple logic gates. One of challenges faced by the team is finding a way to link multiple biological logic gates together to enable complex processing to be carried out.

　　研究的下一阶段将尝试发展更加复杂的电路，能够包含多样的“逻辑门”。小组面临的挑战是找到多样“逻辑门”连接在一起的方法，使复杂信息处理成为可能。