Context
Team at Kolkata institute engineers bacteria to solve maths problems.
About Bactoneurons:
- Objective: Engineer bacteria to perform complex mathematical tasks, previously done by humans or computers.
- Method: Introduce genetic circuits activated by chemical inducers into bacteria, transforming them into bactoneurons (biological computing units).
- Functionality: These bactoneurons, when combined, act as a network similar to artificial neural networks (ANNs), enabling bacteria to carry out complex computations.
- Intelligence Challenge: Unlike multicellular organisms with specialized neurons, single-celled bacteria show responsiveness and intelligence-like behavior.
- Significance: This development challenges traditional concepts of intelligence, demonstrating that simple bacteria can perform tasks like prime number identification and distinguishing vowels from consonants.
- Engineering Bactoneurons:
- Model Organism: Escherichia coli (E. coli) used as the model for engineering bacterial computing units.
- Genetic Modifications: Synthetic promoters and transcription factors inserted to form genetic circuitsresponding to specific chemicals.
- Mechanism: Combination of four transcription factors and unique promoter sequences create feedback and feed-forward mechanisms for complex computations.
- Bacterial Computations:
- Binary Inputs: Bacteria recognize binary input codes through the presence or absence of chemicals (representing 1 or 0), akin to voltage states in traditional computing.
- Task Execution: Each engineered bacterial strain functions as a bactoneuron, performing designated tasks based on chemical inputs.
- Examples:
- Prime Number Detection: Bacteria determine if numbers 0-9 are prime by converting them into binary and presenting chemicals based on the binary encoding.
- Factorial Computation: Bacteria assess if the square of a number can be expressed as the sum of three factorials.
- Optimization Tasks: Bacteria solve problems like calculating the maximum number of sections resulting from straight cuts on a circular object.
Applications and Future Scope:
- Cancer Detection: Bacteria could identify molecular changes indicative of cancer, providing early detection capabilities.
- Revolutionizing Manufacturing: Programmable bacteria could perform specific tasks at the cellular level, reducing reliance on traditional silicon-based computers.
- Pollution Detection: Bacteria could be engineered to detect specific pollutants, signaling when their concentration exceeds safe thresholds.
Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs):
- ANNs are computing systems modeled after biological neural networks in the brain, designed to simulate human cognitive functions like learning and problem-solving.
- Inspired by the structure of the human brain, particularly its network of neurons.
- Learning Process in ANNs:
- ANNs learn by adjusting the strength of connections between nodes, similar to how the brain strengthens neuron connections during learning.
- This enables pattern recognition and decision-making without explicit programming.
- ANNs use algorithms like backpropagation to adjust connection weights during training, minimizing errors between predicted and actual outcomes.
Source: TH
Previous Year Question
In the context of digital technologies for entertainment, consider the following statements:
1. In Augmented Reality (AR), a simulated environment is created and the physical world is completely shut out.
2. In Virtual Reality (VR), images generated from a computer are projected onto real-life objects or surroundings.
3. AR allows individuals to be present in the world and improves the experience using the camera of smart-phones or PC.
4. VR closes the world, and transposes an individual, providing complete immersion experience.
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2019 Prelims]
(a)1 and 2 only
(b) 3 and 4
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 4 only
Answer: (b)