Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of Evolution” [36], where Lane characterizes the evolutionary development
of consciousness and death (through the mitochondria), providing the basis
for biological logic and how best to modify and control that inherent logic.
We are now on the cusp of an epoch, where it is possible to design light-
activated genetic functionality, to actually regulate and program biological
functionality. What if, for instance, we identify/isolate the biological “control
mechanism” for the switching on/off of limb regeneration in the salamander,
or, with the biophotonic emission associated with cancer cell replication and
analogous to the destruction of the cavity resonance in a laser, we reverse
the biological resonance and switch or epigenetically reprogram the cellular
logic? Soon we will engineer time-sequenced reaction pathways to regulate
and affect a huge variety of complex biochemical functionalities [37,38].
The emerging field of optogenetics addresses how specific neuronal cell
types contribute to the function of neural circuits, the idea that two-way
optogenetic traffic could lead to “human-machine fusions in which the brain
truly interacts with the machine rather than only giving or only accepting
orders…” [39]. This could be Ray Kurzweil's “singularity”; he said that it is
“near” (about the year 2040) in his documentary “Transcendent Man.” Device
physics and electro-optic/electrical engineering, optical MEMS (“MOEMS
the word!”), and bionanotech have converged!
Protein scaffolds bind core kinases that successively activate one another
in metabolic pathways engineered to provide biological signal processing
functions. Envision three-dimensional nanostructures fabricated using laser
lithography. Then assemble complex protein structures onto these lattices
in a preferred manner, such that introduction of the lattice frames might
“seed” the correct protein configuration. We then conceive biocompatible
nanostructures for “biologically inspired” computing and signal processing,
for biosensors in the military, for example, or for recreating two-way neural
processes and repairs.
By spatially recruiting metabolic enzymes, protein scaffolds help regulate
synthetic metabolic pathways by balancing proton/electron flux. It seems
that this represents a synthesis methodology with advantages over more
standard chemical constructions. We used to design sequences of digital
optical logic gates to remove the processing bottlenecks of conventional
computers. But if we look to producing non-Von Neumann processors with
biological constructs, we may truly be at the computing crossroad for the
“Kurzweil singularity”!
References
1. Small Tech Consulting. MEMS and nanotechnology. http://www.smalltechcon
sulting.com/What_are_MEMS_Nanotech.shtml
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