科学美国人60秒 细胞电路可以用DNA计算出来

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Our smartphones, tablets, laptops—they all compute¹ things electronically. But, think outside that silicon² box for a second: "There's nothing special about electrons and using silicon as part of computing³." Chris Voigt, a bioengineer at M.I.T.. "You can do computing with any number of things." Including, he says, DNA⁴.

我们的智能手机、平板电脑、笔记本——它们都是以电子方式进行计算。但是，考虑一下那个箱子之外的事物：“利用电子和硅进行计算并没有什么特殊的。” 克里斯·沃伊特是麻省理工学院的生物工程师。“你可以利用计算机计算任何事物的数量。”这其中，就包括DNA。

"Cells do computing all the time. So they're constantly trying to interpret their environment and be able to turn on different genes⁵ and respond to it." And those genes in a cellular⁶ circuit are like the logic⁷ gates, the memory, and other systems found in conventional computers.

“细胞一直都在进行计算。所以，它们一直在试图了解周围的环境，并控制DNA，并对其作出反应。”这些在细胞电路中的基因就像传统电脑中的逻辑门、内存和其他的系统。

So Voigt and his colleagues created what he calls the first human-made "programming language" for living cells. It’s an open-source design environment called "Cello⁸." Just write what you want the cell to do, and Cello spits out the DNA sequence—as if you were compiling code. The researchers used the platform to design 60 genetic⁹ circuits, which they then ran inside E. coli bacteria. Many of these DNA-based circuits allow bacteria to sense environmental data - like levels of oxygen or glucose¹⁰ in the gut¹¹ - and respond in various ways. They detail the findings in the journal Science.

所以，沃伊特和同事们创造了人类首例的活细胞“编程语言”。这种开放源码的设计环境称为“Cello”。你只需写下需要细胞做些什么，这时候Cello翻译DNA序列——就好像你在进行编码。研究人员利用这一平台设计了60个遗传电路，他们可以利用这些遗传电路应用于大肠杆菌内部。许多基于DNA的电路都允许细菌感觉环境数据——例如大肠中的氧气以及葡萄糖的含量——并通过不同的方式作出反应。该研究结果发表在《科学》杂志上。

Not all the circuits worked as intended. A quarter of them failed, and some were toxic¹² to the cells. But the idea is to make cellular circuit design easier—and more approachable—to creative people. "When I was a graduate student I had a computer file for Microsoft Word that had all my favorite pieces of DNA. And I would have to sit there and stitch it together and try to remember how each one worked, and constantly run programs to try to look for mistakes."

但是并不是所有的电路都会按照预期的方式运行。有1/4的电路失败了，而有的电路则会毒害细胞。但是，这种创作想法会使有创新精神的人将细胞电路设计更加简单——更易成功。“当我还在读研究生的时候，我有一个电脑文件里面包含了我最爱的DNA片段。我会坐在那里，将这些片断拼接到一起，并试图记住这些片断是如何运作的，我还经常运行程序试图找到其中的错误。”

Cello takes care of all that. And now, Voigt says, biology is right about where electrical engineering was in the early 80s: ready for a computing revolution.

Cello会处理以上所有的问题。现在，沃伊特称生物学就像80年代早期的电器工程：已经为计算机革命做好准备。

1 compute   

v./n.计算，估计

参考例句：

• I compute my losses at 500 dollars.我估计我的损失有五百元。
• The losses caused by the floods were beyond compute.洪水造成的损失难以估量。

2 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

3 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

4 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

5 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

6 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

7 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

8 cello   

n.大提琴

参考例句：

• The cello is a member of the violin family.大提琴是提琴家族的一员。
• She plays a melodious cello.她拉着一手悦耳的大提琴。

9 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

10 glucose   

n.葡萄糖

参考例句：

• I gave him an extra dose of glucose to pep him up.我给他多注射了一剂葡萄糖以增强他的活力。
• The doctor injected glucose into his patient's veins.医生将葡萄糖注入病人的静脉。

11 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

12 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。