科技英语新闻:Biological computers may become reality, helping monitor human health

BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- British scientists used bacteria and DNA to build basic components for digital devices in a new research, according to media reports, suggesting biological computers come closer to reality.

Digital devices are based on logic gates, fundamental building blocks in silicon circuitry, said Professor Richard Kitney, leading researcher of the research published in the journal Nature Communications, "Without them, we could not process digital information."

According to Science Daily, Professor Kitney and his colleagues from the Imperial College London replicated the building blocks using bacteria and DNA, forming biological logic gates, which paved the way for building more complex biological processors in the future.

The researchers hoped biological computers can be applied to monitoring human health in the future.

They believed that small biological processors, inserted in human bodies, could roam inside the bodies, monitor the health, and correct any problems they found.

These biological logic gates are the most advanced created by scientists. But there is still a long way to go to apply them in reality, said Professor Kitney.