19-01-2012, 12:52 PM
COMPUTER MEMORY BASED ON PROTIEN BACTERIO-RHODOPSIN
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Introduction
Since the dawn of time, man has tried to record important events and techniques for everyday life. At first, it was sufficient to paint on the family cave wall how one hunted. Then came the people who invented spoken languages and the need arose to record what one was saying without hearing it firsthand. Therefore, years later, earlier scholars invented writing to convey what was being said. Pictures gave way to letters which represented spoken sounds. Eventually clay tablets gave way to parchment, which gave way to paper. Paper was, and still is, the main way people convey information. However, in the mid twentieth century computers began to come into general use.
Memory Research and Development
Semiconductor memories were first developed in 1958 by Jack St. Clair Kilby was revolutionary for that era but this technology is already showing its age. As the millennium nears, research into memory technologies is expanding into new previously unexplored areas for digital storage solutions. These new fields promise to fulfill the data processing and computational needs of the 21st century. The primary forms of memory which are currently being explored are optical memory and molecular memory.
Semiconductor Memory Developments
The demands made upon computers and computing devices are increasing each year. Processor speeds are increasing at an extremely fast clip. However, the RAM used in most computers is the same type of memory used several years ago. The limits of making RAM denser are being reached. Surprisingly, these limits may be economical rather than physical. A decrease by a factor of two in size will increase the cost of manufacturing of semiconductor pieces by a factor of 5.
BacterioRhodopsin Photocycle
Bacteriorhodopsin is a photochemically active protein found in the purple membrane of the bacteria Halobacterium salinarium, which was known as Halobacterium halobium. The polypeptide chain is made of seven closely spaced alpha-helical segments looped across the lipid bilayer. The interhelical space contains the all-trans-retinal chromophore which is linked to lys-216 on helix G as a protonated Schiff base.
Conclusion
Birge's system, which he categorizes as a level-I prototype (i.e., a proof of concept), sits on a lab bench. He has received additional funding from the U.S. Air Force, Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY), and the W. M. Keck Foundation to develop a level-II prototype. Such a prototype would fit and operate within a desktop personal computer. "We're a year or two away from doing internal testing on a level-II prototype," says Birge. "Within three to five years, we could have a level-III beta-test prototype ready, which would be a commercial products.
