Advances in electronics

Under the control of a computer at The Scripps Research Institute, a population of billions of genes morphed through 500 cycles of forced adaptation to emerge as molecules that could grow faster and faster on a continually dwindling source of chemical fuel—a feat that researchers describe as an example of "Darwinian evolution on a chip."


The super molecules that resulted, a species of RNA enzyme, were produced in about 70 hours using an automated tool that is about the size of a compact disc, according to the study published in the April issue of PLoS Biology. The Scripps Research investigators who designed the device note that the findings provide an example of the Darwinian principle of selective pressure at work, seen in real time.

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Source: scripps.edu