--Talking about the role of math and computers in modern life science research
The twentieth century is the century of physical sciences, while the twenty-first century is the century of life sciences. Life sciences, especially the rapid development of biotechnology, not only with human health, agricultural development and living environment is closely related, but also on the development of other disciplines to play a role in promoting the so-called "today's science, tomorrow's technology, the day after tomorrow's production". The basic research of life science is the source of modern biotechnology and the key to scientific and technological innovation.
Modern biotechnology, is a leading cutting-edge science and technology disciplines, because of this, I would like to know how it and math - my specialty, computers and other theories or technologies are organically linked together. Based on this, I used my spare time to check many websites and books, and had a small harvest. Now on the "gene chip" technology, as follows.
One, gene chip introduction
Gene chip, also called DNA chip, is in the mid-1990s out of the development of high-tech products. Gene chips are as large as a fingernail, and their substrates are generally treated glass chips. The base surface of each chip can be divided into tens of thousands to millions of cells. Within a given cell, a large number of nucleic acid molecules (also called molecular probes) with specific functions and sequences about 20 bases long can be immobilized.
Since the immobilized molecular probes form different probe arrays on the substrate, utilizing the principles of molecular hybridization and parallel processing, GeneChip can perform molecular detection of genetic material, and thus can be used for genetic research, forensic identification, disease detection and drug screening. Gene chip technology has unparalleled high efficiency, rapidity and multi-parameter characteristics, which is a major innovation and leap in traditional biotechnology such as detection, hybridization, typing and DNA sequencing technology.
Two, gene chip technology
Biochip technology was born in the early 1990s with the smooth progress of the human genome project, it is through the semiconductor photolithography process like the integrated circuit production process of micro-miniaturization technology, the life sciences research in the many discontinuous, discrete analytical processes, such as sample preparation, chemical reactions, and qualitative and quantitative detection means of integration in a fingernail-sized silicon chip. Integrated in the size of a fingernail on a silicon chip or glass chip, so that these analytical processes continuous and miniaturized. That is to say, the current need for several laboratories, laboratories to complete the technology, the production of portable biochemical analyzers with different purposes, so that the biological analysis of the process of full automation, the speed of analysis thousands of times, the need for samples and chemical reagents thousands of times to reduce. It can be predicted that in the near future, the micro analyzer made with it will be widely used in molecular biology, basic medical research, clinical diagnosis and treatment, new drug development, forensic identification, food hygiene supervision, biological weapons war and other fields.
Biochip technology is currently one of the best prospects for the application of DNA analysis technology, the analysis of objects can be nucleic acids, proteins, cells, tissues, etc.. At present, the world with biochips for disease diagnosis is still in the research stage, foreign countries have been used to observe oncogenes and myasthenia gravis and some genetic diseases such as gene expression and mutation.
Biochip technology can also be used for treatment, for example, has been developed in 4 square millimeters of the chip is covered with 400 drugs have drug needles, regular quantitative drug injection for patients. In addition, scientists are also considering the production of timed release of insulin to treat diabetes biochip micropumps and can be placed in the heart of the chip pacemaker. The combination of biochip technology and combinatorial chemistry will open up another valuable application direction, that is, to provide ultra-high-throughput screening platform technology for the development of new drugs, which will surely lead to a major breakthrough in the research and development of new drugs and the evaluation of the composition of traditional Chinese medicine.
Three examples of gene chip applications
1, gene deciphering
At present, the Human Genome Project, which involves scientists from many countries, is attempting to draw a complete map of human chromosomes at the beginning of the 21st century. As we all know, chromosomes are the carrier of DNA, genes are segments of DNA that have a genetic effect, and the basic unit of DNA is the four bases. Since each person possesses 3 billion base pairs, deciphering the base arrangement order of all DNA is undoubtedly a gigantic project. Compared with traditional gene sequencing techniques, gene chips decipher the human genome and detect gene mutations thousands of times faster.
The main reason why the gene chip is so fast is that there are thousands of microgels on the gene chip, which can be detected in parallel; at the same time, because the microgel is three-dimensional, it is equivalent to providing a three-dimensional detection platform, which can immobilize proteins and DNA and analyze them.
The United States is conducting research on the gene chip, has developed a rapid interpretation of the genetic code of the "gene chip", so that the interpretation of human genes 1,000 times faster than the current speed. Figure 1 shows a genetic testing device with an embedded gene chip.
2. Genetic diagnosis
By analyzing the human genome with a gene chip, disease-causing genes can be identified. Cancer and diabetes, among other things, are diseases caused by genetic defects. Medical and biological researchers will be able to identify mutated genes that ultimately cause cancer, among other things, in seconds. With the help of a small drop of test solution, doctors will be able to predict the efficacy of a drug on a patient, diagnose adverse reactions to a drug during treatment, and identify on the spot what kind of bacterial, viral, or other microbial infection a patient is suffering from. The use of gene chips to analyze genes will lead to a more than 50 percent diagnosis of diabetes in 10 years.
In the future, when people undergo medical checkups, a diagnostic robot equipped with a gene chip will take blood from the examinee, and the results of the checkup will be displayed on a computer screen in an instant. Using genetic diagnosis, medical treatment will progress from the era of "mass medical care" to the era of "customized medical care" based on individual genetics.
3, gene environmental protection
Gene chips are also very promising in environmental protection. Gene chips can efficiently detect pollution caused by microorganisms or organic matter, and can also help researchers find and synthesize natural enzyme genes that have the function of detoxifying and digesting pollutants. Once such environmentally friendly genes are discovered, researchers will transfer them into common bacteria, which will then be used to clean up polluted rivers or soil.
4. Genetic computation
The DNA molecule is similar to a "computer disk," with functions such as saving, copying and rewriting information. The length of a helical DNA molecule will exceed a person's height if it is straightened out, but if it is folded up, it can be reduced to a small ball with a diameter of only a few micrometers. Therefore, the DNA molecule is regarded as an ultra-high-density, high-capacity molecular memory.
Gene chips can also be used to create biological computers after being improved to express different numbers using different biological states. Based on gene chips and genetic algorithms, the future field of bioinformatics will hopefully see the emergence of bioinformatics companies that can match today's computer industry hardware giants -- Intel Corporation and software giants -- Microsoft Corporation.
Fourth, the practical application of gene chips
Gene chips have extremely important application value in life science, pharmaceutical research, environmental protection and agriculture. Driven by gene chips, human beings are entering a brand new bio-information era.
1, in the United States scientists for the first time they called a biochip computer chip implanted in the human body's cells, so that the human body cells and computer connection. This is the American scientist Boris Lubinsky (Boris Lubinsky) and his colleague Huang Yong (transliteration) in the March issue of the U.S. "Biomedical Microdevices" magazine article disclosure.
2. Human cells are covered with a cell membrane that functions to allow specific substances to pass through in one direction. For many years, scientists have been seeking to find ways to use electrical shocks to make desired substances enter the cell membrane, but until now, the methods used have sometimes succeeded and sometimes failed. With the new method developed by Rubinsky and Huang Yong, the cell membrane is given a signal by a computer to allow certain substances to enter the cell. Depending on the context, these substances could be genetic material, for example, used to change genes, or drugs or proteins. In this way, the substances can be made more effective.
Scientists such as Rubinsky intend to develop biochips that can send commands to human tissues such as nerve cells and muscles, which would at least make the drugs people take more effective. Morillo Frari, director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering at Ohio State University, called Rubinski's invention a potentially useful laboratory tool in the early stages of development.
U.S. scientists say they have found a bioengineered chip that can mate human cells and circuits that could play a key role in medicine and genetic engineering.
The microscopic device, which is smaller and thinner than a hair, allows healthy human cells to combine with an electronic chip, and by controlling the chip through a computer, the scientists believe they are able to control the activity of the cells.
The computer sends electrical impulses to the cell chip, which excites the cell membrane pores to open up and activate the cells. Scientists hope to produce such cell chips in large quantities and be able to implant them in the body to replace or correct diseased tissue.
Boris Rubinsky, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, who led the research, said, "The cell chips also give scientists more precise control over the complex process of gene therapy because they can open the cell pores more accurately."
Rubinsky added: "We have introduced the essence of engineering in the field of biology, and we are fully able to input DNA, extract proteins, and inject drugs without affecting other cells around us."
The cell chip is linked to a long-held theory that a certain amount of voltage can penetrate cell membranes.
For years, scientists have been conducting genetic research on experiments with bombarding cells with electricity in hopes of introducing new therapies and genetic material. Researchers hope to eventually create cell chips that are tuned to the exact amount of voltage needed to activate different body tissues, from muscle to bone to the brain. That way, thousands of cell chips will be available to treat all types of diseases.
3. China's first applied gene chip, developed with its own original technology, was officially born recently at the First Military Medical University.
According to the person in charge at the First Military Medical University, the successful development of the gene chip by the University of Military Medicine is the first time in China to apply an innovative gene-sheet amplification technology, taking the lead in overcoming the problem of collecting tens of thousands of gene probes quickly and economically first faced by mainland counterparts in the gene chip research, and skillfully applying the new technological means to significantly reduce costs.
Currently, the microarray has completed its laboratory work and is about to enter the clinical validation phase. If things go well, the gene chip for clinical diagnosis is expected to be put into mass production soon. So far, however, no gene chips have been produced for clinical use in the world.
In the lab, these pieces of gene chips, slightly larger than a thumbnail, are placed on a detector, which is connected to a computer screen that is immediately crisscrossed with red, red, green, and green fluorescent dots, and each fluorescent dot that appears is a dot matrix of gene fragments. As long as the patient to take a drop of blood on the chip detection card, after molecular hybridization, connected to the computer can immediately show the genetic changes, and through the computer to the genetic language translated into a doctor can read the information, so as to make an accurate diagnosis of the disease.
The successful birth of such chips marks the advancement of disease diagnosis from the cellular and tissue levels to the genetic level. Their development and application will show a broad prospect in environmental pollution control, animal and plant quarantine, organ transplantation, prenatal diagnosis, drug screening, drug development and so on.
Fifth, life sciences gradually become the focus of IT companies
Human genome work sketch drawing the news like opening the door to the treasure of Alibaba, gene technology as the core of the life sciences market is attracting more and more gold diggers. Recently, information technology (IT) companies, which produce the "shovels" for these gold diggers, have been making a lot of noise.
1, unraveling the mystery of the genes must be deciphered a lot of data
Human genome sketch is only read out the "book of life", and to really read it, revealing all the information represented by the genetic code, but also have to decipher the vast ocean of data.
In the famous Sanger Center in the United Kingdom, data on the human genome has reached 22 trillion bytes, more than twice the content of the world's premier Library of Congress collection. This center estimates that the amount of data related to the human genome will rise to another 50 trillion to 100 trillion bytes in the next two to three years.
2, life sciences companies 10% investment for the development of information technology
In order to solve the problem of the huge computing power needed to deal with the data, the world's 12 largest life sciences companies currently spend nearly 10% of their research budgets on investment in information technology, and this proportion is likely to grow.
International Business Machines (IBM) estimates that the life sciences-related IT market will reach $3.5 billion this year and $9 billion by 2003.
3. Huge market potential
Some famous IT companies have set their eyes on this market with huge potential. For example, IBM has decided to invest 100 million U.S. dollars, five years to develop a kind of supercomputer called "blue gene".
"Blue Gene" computing power will be the 40 fastest existing supercomputers in the United States 40 times the total computing power, it is mainly used to simulate the process of human protein folding into a special shape. The world's largest personal computer maker, Compaq, also coveted this piece of "fat meat".
4, Compaq early start to cultivate the future customer base
Compaq has become a major supplier of computer servers in the life sciences field recently announced that it will continue to invest $ 100 million in support of emerging biotechnology companies, in order to cultivate the future customer base.
In fact, IT companies have far more than just an eye on these near-term benefits. There is a ****ing consensus that the bioeconomy, based on genetic research, could become an important part of the new economy in the new century.
5. Industry standard-setters enjoy huge economic benefits
Based on past experience, most companies that enter the market first are able to become industry standard-setters, and these industry standards often mean huge economic benefits.
In August of this year, shares of German company Lion Life Sciences went public. Its stock price quickly rose 50 percent in a short period of time, as investors saw the company's gene-sequence retrieval system (SRS) as a potential new industry standard.
6, government support for genetic research
IT companies to enter the field of life sciences, and the support of governments on genetic research is inseparable. In order to take the lead in the next stage of genome research -- analyzing protein structure in the international competition, many countries are actively taking measures to promote the combination of the information industry and the bio-industry.
For example, Japan recently organized a "government, industry and academia" large joint "bio-industry information technology research **** the same body", to participate in this **** the same body in addition to pharmaceuticals, food, biology, chemistry and other genetics-related enterprises, there are also A number of computer companies.
Summary: the scientific community recognized that the biochip technology will bring a revolution to the next century of life science and medical research. At present, our scientists are accelerating the development of this may be fast and convenient to extract DNA, find the genetic characteristics of the new technology. I believe that the results of this marriage of modern biology and high technology will make a great contribution to the development of the twenty-first century!