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Juan Carlos López
Senior WriterAn engineer by training. A science and tech journalist by passion, vocation, and conviction. I've been writing professionally for over two decades, and I suspect I still have a long way to go. At Xataka, I write about many topics, but I mainly enjoy covering nuclear fusion, quantum physics, quantum computers, microprocessors, and TVs.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
This year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona is packed with smartphones, tablets, and other familiar devices. But a few surprises stand out—none more so than the first commercially available biological computer. The company behind it is Cortical Labs, an Australian biotech enterprise.
Biological computing is a branch of computer science that explores how biological elements can process and store information. It also draws inspiration from biological evolution to develop algorithms that solve complex problems.
In hardware, biological computing uses molecules derived from biological systems, such as proteins or DNA, to perform computations and store and retrieve information. In software, particularly AI applications, it seeks to apply biological strategies to solve computational challenges. This approach led Cortical Labs to create the CL1, the world’s first biological computer.
CL1: A Dream Realized
This advanced computer was made possible by recent breakthroughs in nanobiotechnology. Scientists define this field as the precise manipulation of proteins to assemble complex functional structures. Early biological computers could perform computations by altering a bacterium’s ribonucleic acid (RNA).
Researchers have developed these machines by using DNA molecules as digital circuits, enabling them to execute logical operations like conventional silicon processors. Thanks to advances in nanobiotechnology, scientists can now manipulate DNA to perform these functions.
Thanks to advances in nanobiotechnology, scientists can now manipulate DNA to perform these functions.
Once the biological circuit is prepared, it is introduced into an Escherichia coli bacterium—identical to those in human digestive systems. Because E. coli is simple and harmless, researchers can easily modify it. When the engineered DNA enters the cell, the bacterium’s molecular machinery translates it into messenger RNA (mRNA).
This mRNA then directs the ribosome—an organelle responsible for protein synthesis—to produce a specific protein, but only when triggered by a particular input. This input-output process mirrors the function of a transistor.
While CL1 doesn’t function exactly this way, the concept helps explain its operation. The system grows real neurons in a nutrient-rich solution that sustains their development on a silicon chip. This chip sends and receives electrical impulses, forming the core of the biological computer.
CL1 runs on biOS, a software developed by Cortical Labs that directly interacts with the neurons.
But CL1 is more than just hardware. It runs on the Biological Intelligence Operating System (biOS), software developed by Cortical Labs that directly interacts with the neurons. biOS sends environmental data to the neurons, which respond by emitting electrical impulses. The most remarkable feature: CL1’s neurons are programmable, allowing researchers to place code on them.
However, CL1 isn’t designed for personal use. Instead, researchers can leverage it to study how neurons process information without relying on animal experiments. It could help neuroscientists better understand learning in real time or uncover the mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases. Another advantage: CL1 consumes far less power than a traditional computer. Sounds promising, doesn’t it?
Image | Cortical Labs
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