From: Grant Callaghan (grantc4@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed 26 Feb 2003 - 16:07:07 GMT
Virtual DNA Replicates
Technology Research News February 21, 2003
Artificial life researchers from the Canadian National Research Council and
the University of Waterloo are closely examining the self-replication
process that underpins evolution using a computer simulation of
self-replicating strings of symbols that work as a simplified sort of DNA.
The simulation consists of T-shaped virtual objects that exist in a
two-dimensional virtual soup and are affected by several forces that affect
interactions among the particles, allowing them to make and break bonds with
each other.
The objects are like DNA's codons, sequences of three nucleotides in a
string of genetic code. The virtual objects assemble into patterns similar
to the way codons make up strands of DNA or RNA.
The work promises to provide a better understanding of life's workings. It
also lays the groundwork for inexpensive and flexible manufacturing
processes that borrow from life's vast experience, including the possibility
of growing machines in vats of chemicals.
It will be more than a decade before this type of work could be ready for
use in practical manufacturing processes, according to the researchers. The
research is scheduled to appear in the Winter, 2003 issue of the journal
Artificial Life.
Grant
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