MSI PI Kate Adamala (assistant professor, Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development) and colleagues have developed a breakthrough in biological computing (biocomputing), which uses systems of biologically derived molecules that perform computational processes. Trumpet, or Transcriptional RNA Universal Multi-Purpose GatE PlaTform, is a platform for DNA-based molecular computing that uses biological enzymes as catalysts.
This research was published in the journal Nature Communications: Trumpet is an operating system for simple and robust cell-free biocomputing. A U of M Research Brief about this appears on the U of M News site: The Trumpet biocomputing platform heralds a new path for medicine.
Professor Adamala uses MSI resources as part of research that is engineering synthetic cell systems to investigate complex natural processes in a defined, controlled system.