Mankind or machine?
The future, it seems, has arrived. Biotechnology - or bioinformatics to be
more precise are words that can suggest images of science fiction:
half-human/half-machine cyborgs, genetic engineering and cloning.
"One could be mistaken in thinking of biotechnology as Hollywood science
fiction, but a more accurate explanation of it, and in particular
bioinformatics, would be the meeting via the use of computers of biotechnology
and information technology to store, retrieve, analyse or predict the
composition or structure of bio molecules," explained Tania Broveak Hide,
CEO of Electric Genetics, a local biotechnology firm.
So how do IT and biotechnology work together, how far is South Africa in the
biotech race and what has been achieved in this field?
According to Broveak Hide, biotechnologically the biggest focus in South
Africa is on agricultural development, because of issues like genetically
modified (GM) foods, and drug delivery systems. There are also a number of
exciting experimental developments taking place that are leading us closer to
the concept of the merging of man and machine, she said.
"Given the amazing complexity created through evolution, the greatest
challenge in biotechnology is working towards an understanding of how the genome
works. A secondary challenge is addressing the ethical and social issues that
arise from our increased understanding. Biotechnology is a moving target and we
are only at the beginning of understanding how things work," she added.
Brain-computer interface
The US is well ahead of the rest of the world in making use of
bioinformatics, particularly in terms of security smart cards. In the US
researchers are carrying out the first tests on a silicon chip designed to
replace a damaged part of the human brain. This development, known as the
brain-computer interface (BCI), offers hope for the future. A BCI uses an
electroencephalograph to pick up brain waves from electrodes attached to the
skull; the brain waves are then amplified and used as computer commands.
While BCIs are still in the development stage, in a perfect world these
devices would be able to seamlessly fuse thought with real-time action. In other
words, a victim of paralysis would only need to think a command and the cursor
on the attached computer would respond. If they were to think 'e-mail', an
e-mail program would spontaneously open, or 'coffee', and the kettle would
switch on. Telepathy and ESP are no longer regarded as farfetched!
Artificial synapses
Another area where the gap between machine and human interface is diminishing
is with the development of artificial synapses able to help nerve cells
communicate through an implanted microchip: the chip will stimulate the
junctions where nerve messages travel from one cell to another. In California,
the Stanford University researchers involved in this project believe their
synapse chip could act more like the brain's natural processes than an
electrically charged chip, because it allows for sensitive and specific
responses.
They have already been able to create four artificial synapses on a
one-centimetre square silicon chip. Each synapse is a tiny hole in the silicon,
just 5 000 nanometres wide; although this is much bigger than a real synapse it
can nonetheless stimulate a single cell in a layer above the chip.
"There are huge obstacles to be overcome in producing a reliable interface
with the brain, and with useful information throughput," says Dr John Chad,
a senior lecturer at the University of Southampton. "However, the success
of techniques such as cochlear implants show that the brain can utilise
relatively sparse information to good effect.
Biotechnology and IT
But what do biotechnology and IT have in common?
Biotechnology produces large amounts of data, such as DNA information for
example, explained Broveak Hide. "This information is typically represented
as strings of letters (DNA is represented as the letters A, C, T and G, which
correlate to the molecules that make up DNA) or as images (a series of dots of
varying intensity or size on a grid).
"Because the data is so extensive (many terabytes and sometimes even
petabytes of information at large bioinformatics sites) it is impossible to sift
through it all by hand. Furthermore, the race to make biotechnology discoveries
is so competitive in both academia and industry that sifting through the data in
an intelligent fashion is a key competitive edge companies can gain. As a
result, a specific discipline called bioinformatics - the application of
computing in biotechnology - was born.
According to Broveak Hide, telecommunication and biotechnology share similar
problems. "Both have to manage vast amounts of information in limited
amounts of time or bandwidth. On the computing side, because of the volume of
data many of the techniques used in telecommunications are also used in
biotechnology. Distributed computing is therefore highly advanced in both
disciplines.
"Fortuitously, the majority of our engineers are from the
telecommunications field. An algorithm originally developed for biotechnology
has been applied in the local telecommunications field and computer science
techniques have been applied in fields such as artificial intelligence, physics
and voice recognition, so we monitor closely developments in both fields,"
she said.
In terms of the convergence of computers and biological material, many
researchers believe that computers of the future will not be built by factory
machines but by living cells, such as bacteria. The American Association for the
Advancement of Science has described how yeast organisms can now make wires, and
how solar panels can be built using substances produced by sea sponges.
Researchers believe that development of such technologies is essential if the
size of electronic devices continues to shrink. Dr Daniel Morse of the
University of California warns that computers made via natural processes are not
around the corner, however, and that it will be many years before the
technologies can be developed that far.
"South African biotechnology is not quite on a par with the rest of the
world," said Broveak Hide, "although there are numerous government and
privately funded initiatives to support our fledgling biotechnology industry.
These are aimed at developing key innovations in the academic and commercial
sector so that they can benefit the country and increase South Africa's
competitiveness in this sector.
"While our industry overall lags some ten years behind that of highly
developed countries and three to five years behind developing countries like
Brazil and India, we do have some pockets of real excellence."
Dr. Paul Abrahams, CEO of eGoli BIO, a Life Sciences Business Incubator, agrees.
"Our biotechnology sector is growing relatively slowly, but I believe the
real kick-start for this industry will come when we have a first big success.
That is when people will really sit up and take notice of us."
Biotechnology is one of the critical hi-tech growth sectors for South Africa's
future economy and Abrahams said that while there is still a lot of learning
required to get the biotechnology sector properly established, this country is
well on its way to achieving the goals of the National Biotech Strategy.
"Our ultimate goal as a technology incubator is to support and assist the
development of biotechnology start-up companies into successful, viable business
enterprises and the creation of a sustainable biotechnology SMME (in full)
sector in South Africa. I believe a lot will happen in this sector within the
next five years or so. There is no doubt that the future of biotechnology in
South Africa is bright."
Article courtesy of Cell Mag.
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