Future Trends in Microelectronics: Up the Nano Creek

Part II

Biology: We Are All Zoa

2    Biology: We Are All Zoa

Biology in microelectronics? Or, microelectronics in biology? Either way it is an intriguing notion, and very possibly a reality. Indeed, it is intriguing and real enough a subject to comprise a standalone part in this volume.

In many ways the celebrated nanotechnology may be viewed as a natural evolution of human capability from the micro to nano regime that the microelectronics has entered over a decade ago. In this light it is really more of an evolution than a revolution. Biology, on the other hand, is a space where there may be a real chance of a revolution created by the unprecedented access and control at the same size scale as the basic units of life – proteins and biomolecules. Signs of revolution in this space are emerging and can be seen throughout this chapter – direct electronic interface with and read-out from neurons in living human brains; synthesis of viruses as “chemicals with life”; and guided evolution of colonies of photobacteria. By breaking into biology, micro- and nanoelectronics also break out of their traditional realm of information processing and transmission to reach into the equally rewarding but so far under-explored spaces of information acquisition and information execution. Molecular markers, molecular imaging, and molecular diagnostics are examples highlighted in this chapter, not surprisingly aimed above all at applications in healthcare – a sector of the economy that is projected ...