ISRAEL: AT THE WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE THEY ARE DISCOVERING THAT THE WORLD'S SMALLEST COMPUTER IS SHOWING BIG POTENTIAL FOR CANCER TREATMENT

Record ID: 397914

  • Title: ISRAEL: AT THE WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE THEY ARE DISCOVERING THAT THE WORLD'S SMALLEST COMPUTER IS SHOWING BIG POTENTIAL FOR CANCER TREATMENT
  • Date: 4th May 2004
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION (L!1) REHOVOT, ISRAEL (MAY 4, 2004) (REUTERS) PAN: ACROSS CAMPUS AT WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE CU/TILT DOWN: OF WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE / PROFESSOR EHUD SHAPIRO WALKING DOWN STEPS MV: SHAPIRO SITTING AT COMPUTER SCREEN
  • Embargoed: 19th May 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: REHOVOT, ISRAEL
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Health
  • Reuters ID: LVA88CT858DU0TJIWC64G3V5NV7Q
  • Story Text: World's smallest computer shows big potential for cancer treatment.
    The world's smallest computer (around a trillion of them can fit in a drop of water) might one day go on record again as the tiniest medical kit.
    Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science developed the computer system to identify - in a test tube - changes in the balance of molecules in the body which can indicate the presence of certain cancers. It can also diagnose the type of cancer and react by producing a drug molecule to fight the cancer cells.
    "Several diseases, such as cancers, are characterised by the changes of certain molecules in the body. So, the signature of the disease is reflected in a change in the quantity of certain molecules," said Professor Ehud Shapiro, who headed the research team that designed the system.
    "Our computer was programmed to sense these changes in the level of certain molecules in the body and to diagnose the disease based on these changes that were sensed. And, once the disease was diagnosed, it responded by producing a drug for the disease," Shapiro said.
    The computer, which is made entirely of biological molecules, was developed by a team from the Institute's Departments of Computer Sciences and Applied Mathematics, and Biological Chemistry. Their results were recently published in the scientific journal Nature.
    Last month, Shapiro presented the findings at the Brussels symposium "Life, a Nobel Story." The conference brings Nobel Laureates and others together to address the future of the life sciences.
    As in previous biological computers produced in Shapiro's lab, input, output and "software" are all composed of DNA, the material of genes, while DNA-manipulating enzymes are used as "hardware."
    The latest version's input apparatus is designed to assess concentrations of specific RNA molecules, which may be over-produced or under-produced, depending on the type of cancer.
    When cancer is detected, the computer's output unit can initiate the controlled release of a single-stranded DNA molecule that interferes with the cancer cell's activities, causing it to self-destruct.
    "When we put a molecular model of the disease in the test tube, together with our computer, the computer was able to correctly diagnose the disease. And, in response to produce inside the test tube a drug molecule for the disease," said Shapiro.
    In one series of test-tube experiments, the team programmed the computer to identify RNA molecules that indicate the presence of prostate cancer and, following a correct diagnosis, release the short DNA strands designed to kill cancer cells.
    Similarly, they were able to identify, in the test tube, the signs of one form of lung cancer.
    One day in the future, they hope to create a "doctor in a cell", which will operate inside a living body, spot disease and apply the necessary treatment before external symptoms appear.
    But Shapiro warned such futuristic solutions could be many years away.
    Shapiro explained that the demonstration was only in a test tube and not in living cells or living tissue. It will probably take decades it can be used in real medical applications, he said.
    The original version of the biomolecular computer, which was also created in a test tube and was capable of performing simple mathematical calculations, was introduced by Shapiro and his colleagues in 2001.
    An improved system, which uses its input DNA molecule as its sole source of energy, was reported in 2003 and was listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest biological computing device.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register