Ciao a proposito di saperi biopolici, bioscenza del potere, vite che producono saperi che producono controllo ... leggetevi questa. Prima ancora di arrivare al personal biotech, si prefigura un wireless biotech:
Scientists get genome information anytime, anywhere. 26 February 2003 JOHN WHITFIELD Biologists can now seize inspiration whenever it strikes, thanks to a new database that sends genetic information to mobile phones. "I was sitting on the bus reading a paper in Nature, and I wanted to know what DNA sequences were available for the species I was looking at," says genomics researcher Björn Ursing of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. "Then I looked at my mobile phone." The wireless application protocol (WAP), which allows Internet access from a mobile phone, might be the answer, Ursing realized. He has now compiled a WAP-accessible database of all the 117 organisms that have had their genome sequenced1. WiGID - the wireless genome information database - contains species' names, scientific descriptions and reference to their published genetic sequence. It also has information on genome size in DNA letters, chromosomes and genes. As well as helping in the planning of research projects, WiGID can instantly verify facts and settle arguments. "I heard of someone using it in a seminar, to check on what the guy was talking about," Ursing says. The database, which was launched a few weeks ago, has had more than a hundred visits this month. Wireless devices might help researchers to keep up with the ever-growing number of genomes, comments bioinformatics expert Damian Counsell of the Medical Research Council's Human Genome Mapping Project Resource Centre near Cambridge, UK. "As genomes are coming out more and more frequently, it's nice to be updated about new species data," he says. Scientific applications for mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are still being pioneered, explains bioinformaticist Mauno Vihinen of the University of Tampere, Finland. He works on BioWAP, a wireless search engine for genome and protein databases. "People are a little bit astonished that these things exist," he says. But they will come into their own as devices such as WAP mobile phones, PDAs and personal computers become omnipresent, predicts Vihinen. "In the future there will be much more wireless communication in labs. People will be wired all the time," he says. References Ursing, B.WiGID: wireless genome information database. Bioinformatics, 19, 439 - 440, (2003). _______________________________________________ www.e-laser.org [EMAIL PROTECTED]
