Robots made of DNA crawled off the pages of science fiction and into bioengineers’ labs in 2017.
The idea is intriguing; little machines made of a few strands of human DNA can “walk around” in the person’s body, taking samples or delivering drugs without causing damage that a mechanical device might, and then harmlessly biodegrade when the work is done.
But designing a DNA bot is a complicated process, often taking scientists days to figure out.
Now researchers at Ohio State University have unveiled MagicDNA, a software kit that can design complex DNA robots in a matter of minutes.
Previously, the team was able to figure out robots with about six pieces of DNA; the new design tool has shown them how to make bots with as many as 20 segments plus the hinges, rotors, and other connectors that make them mobile.
The software enables engineers to test combinations of individual DNA segments and then optimize their shape and connections.
It also can start with a geometric shape that the scientists need for a particular task, then automatically decide how the segments need to be arranged and connected to deliver that shape.
The software designs the robots in 3D, allowing the engineers to see how a bot would move in the real world.
With MagicDNA, scientists will now be able to make bigger, more able robots in a practical amount of time. For example, today’s DNA robot could enter the bloodstream and detect a specific pathogen. The new software could quickly design a more complex machine that can not only spot the invader but also release a drug to attack it.
The researchers are enhancing their software kit to be able to design even more complex DNA machines and say that MagicDNA is already receiving interest from biotech companies.
TRENDPOST: By exponentially speeding the design process, the Ohio researchers have also sped up, potentially by years, the process of creating useful DNA machines and putting them to work.
In any area, as computers automate design processes too complex for humans to manage efficiently, the time from concept to commercialization will be slashed.
