Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Programming Cells, With CellOS

Posted by timothy on from the undeclared-membrane-operations-are-fatal dept.

First time accepted submitter JoeMerchant writes "An international team of synthetic biologists, led by professor of computer science Natalio Krasnogor at the University of Nottingham, hopes to revolutionize synthetic biology with what they call CellOS, a 'bottom-up approach to cellular computing, in which computational chemical processes are encapsulated within liposomes.' The bold project is aptly named AUdACiOuS."

38 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Jsut watch out by Chrisq · · Score: 3, Funny

    Jsut watch out for the bugs

    1. Re:Jsut watch out by d3ac0n · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting for the "whatcouldpossiblygowrong" tag to show up on this story.

      Fully programmable cells?

      And what happens when someone programs them to break down any biological material and then to use that broken down material to replicate indefinitely?

      Grey Goo disaster anyone?

      --
      Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
    2. Re:Jsut watch out by nobodie · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, i'm confused, how do you program with a cello?
      I understand being able to listen to cellos on audacious,i use it as my primary music player right now, but the rest of this thread is really messed up.

      --
      Subversion of spatial scale luxury decoration ideas.
  2. ACRONYM by Sockatume · · Score: 4, Funny

    That acronym is ATRoCiOuS.

    --
    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    1. Re:ACRONYM by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 4, Funny

      1. I believe technically CellOS is a portmanteau, not an acronym.
      2. A Pennsylvania Information System would be PennIS.

    2. Re:ACRONYM by jd · · Score: 2

      It's a compound word if the two words used are element words, otherwise it's a molecule word.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    3. Re:ACRONYM by dogsbreath · · Score: 1

      Do you mean to say:

      To understand the acronym is ATRoCiOuS {
                You must understand the acronym is ATRoCiOus
                }

      ?
      ( with some apologies to recursion freaks, and formatting n*zis )

  3. Cellular? by broginator · · Score: 1

    I took cellular automata in college, and they never mentioned this...

    --
    s/[stupid comments]/[intelligent discourse]/gi
  4. PS3 by tepples · · Score: 2

    And watch out for the firmware update that removes the public's ability to program the Cells.

  5. Re:virii by zAPPzAPP · · Score: 2

    Actually it's the old meaning. We have come full circle.

  6. FreeCell? by Marc+Madness · · Score: 2

    How long until we have a CellOS back-end for GCC?

  7. neural networks by dominious · · Score: 1

    so if you program an Artificial Neural Network it will be a biological one then... hmmm

  8. Time to really get into declarative languages then by sirlark · · Score: 1

    I guess that the 'language' would have to be declarative, like prolog, since there is no way to enforce sequential execution. On a really positive note, at least the platform won't be subject to potential fragmentation. Like Richard Feynman said: 'You can't fool mother nature'

  9. I'd like to thank Slashdot... by dreemernj · · Score: 2

    ...for not all-capping their titles. PROGRAMMING CELLS, WITH CELLOS is a very different headline.

    --
    1 (short ton / firkin) = 89.1432354 slugs / keg
    1. Re:I'd like to thank Slashdot... by Thing+1 · · Score: 1

      Well, music soothed the savage beast; perhaps it had some genetic effect as well?

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  10. Re:Time to really get into declarative languages t by Mitchell314 · · Score: 1

    Fragmentation? Please, we got nothing on mother nature when it comes to fragmentation. :P

    --
    I read TFA and all I got was this lousy cookie
  11. Yet another project with by kungfuj35u5 · · Score: 1

    a name of an already popular open source application: http://audacious-media-player.org/
    This is almost as bad as the libtorrent and libTorrent fiasco.

  12. Danger by Dunbal · · Score: 1

    Since a court ruled recently that DNA couldn't be patented, now it looks like they're going to make an end run and try to get it copyrighted instead, as part of a "program" to genetically manipulate cells (and their contents). Oh well done.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    1. Re:Danger by Sockatume · · Score: 1

      If you could protect DNA sequences with copyright, someone would've already done so. They're trivial to represent in text.

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    2. Re:Danger by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      But you just can't do that - it would be like trying to copyright the weather. But if I copyright the processes by which I can get a cell to express certain genes by calling it a "language" and an "algorithm", bingo.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    3. Re:Danger by MozeeToby · · Score: 1

      That's not how copyright works. You can only copyright your specific implementation of getting a cell to express certain genes. Someone else can come along and write a different program to express the same genes and, unless there is evidence that they copies your work, there's nothing you can do about it.

  13. From the article... by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

    I will aim at making E.coli bacteria much more easily to program and hence harness for useful purposes

    So, insert a switch into E.coli to activate "auto-brewery" mode, swallow a pill containing the key on Friday afternoon and you get Free Beer, internally produced.

    1. Re:From the article... by Sockatume · · Score: 1

      So your idea of a good Friday night is eating grains while belching repeatedly until you pass out from intoxication?

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    2. Re:From the article... by JoeMerchant · · Score: 2

      Presumably the E.coli would be programmed to shut off alcohol production when a relatively low concentration is reached - errors in this threshold could range from amusing to fatal. And, I don't really like beer that much, I'd probably drink grape juice instead of eating grains... About the gas, that sounds like a problem for another bug, the same one we need to scrub gaseous CO2 from exhaust pipes.

  14. cellular engineering by Iamthecheese · · Score: 1

    When can I have my cancer killing viruses, junk removing microbes, and human 1.05 patch?

    --
    If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    1. Re:cellular engineering by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

      Considering these guys are somewhere like the planning stages of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine, I'm guessing you'll be dead before anything that sophisticated comes around.

  15. and here i thought by nimbius · · Score: 1

    "finally! a use for my music minor and a chance to dust off the ole cello..."

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:and here i thought by grcumb · · Score: 1

      Actually, there's already an Android version based on this, named Fro Yo Ma.

      --
      Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
    2. Re:and here i thought by jd · · Score: 1

      Hey, you never know. If you can program yeast cells with light, then surely you can program other sorts of cell with cello music. The Mozart Effect and all that.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    3. Re:and here i thought by eriqk · · Score: 1

      Dust off the cello to play some blood music, you mean.

  16. Re:virii by dpilot · · Score: 1

    How about "vi - R - us" - for emacs haters.

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
  17. synthetic biologists by rwise2112 · · Score: 1

    I'd like to know who made these synthetic biologists and why? Is there a shortage of real ones?

    --

    "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert"
  18. Oblig. Toothpaste for Dinner by dingo_kinznerhook · · Score: 1

    http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/072906/linux-dog.gif

    --
    "God does not play Minecraft with the world." - Albert Einstein
  19. Krasnogor by buanzo · · Score: 1

    Klingon. Definitely.

    --
    Buanzo Consulting - 15 Years of GNU/Linux experience, for you.
  20. VüDü Linux improvement by bsa3 · · Score: 1

    Will CellOS make it easier to install Linux on a dead badger?

  21. link to free version of journal article by tobiah · · Score: 2

    www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~nxk/PAPERS/DPDPSys.pdf
    It looks like a well-considered approach. Hacking living organisms and designing new ones is coming, and it will be a big deal.

    --
    "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
  22. Ah! They're from Nottingham! by jd · · Score: 1

    That explains everything!

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  23. Re:Obligatory by tehlinux · · Score: 1

    Too late for Steve though.

    --
    Most linux users don't know this, but the man pages were named after Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris fsck'ing hates noobs!