1. Dumping the ‘junk’ DNA theory
From the time the final draft of the human genome was published in 2003, it was believed that 98 percent of our genetic material inside each cell was ‘junk’, with no known function. The rest, about 2 percent of our DNA that make 20,000-odd genes, are coded for the proteins that govern our life. In 2012, that theory was consigned to history. Results from the five-year Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project showed that nearly 80 percent of that DNA has some biochemical function, 18 percent of which regulates the genes, acting as switches to turn them on or off. While ENCODE proves that the genome is more complex than anyone thought, it offers hope to target individual differences in diseases for better treatment. As people get their genomes sequenced, this data can be used to map regulatory information. Something that took 450 scientists 300 years of computer time won’t yield clinical results just yet, but it’s a big first step.
2. Inside the Human Brain
After building the revolutionary low-power 32-bit ARM microprocessor that powers nearly all mobile phones today, Steve Furber at the University of Manchester, UK, is now applying his wizardry to model the human brain. He is designing a new 18-core chip and is developing strategies to connect many thousands of them. His team has come up with a new kind of computer called SpiNNaker (after Spiking Neural Network Architecture). A combination of analogue chips and digital computers, this massively parallel machine will one day help us understand self-awareness and consciousness, characteristics that the brain today is believed to be incapable of understanding.
(This story appears in the 11 January, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)