Eyecatchers-40 : Plants may walk in the next century - Energy Era

The next century may see plants that can walk or animals that can photosynthesise, according to scientists.

At the same time, the distinction between computer and living beings would be blurred and computing would be so advanced that flawless future prediction would be a routine affair. US scientist Charles R.Canter told the final session of the 13th International Biophysics Congress in New Delhi recently.

With the advancement of modern biology, computer science and genetic engineering, the possibility of such “blue sky” events to become a reality is increasing day by day.

“Evolutionary methods can be extended to produce novel organisms such as walking plants or an animal capable of producing its own food using sunlight and some chemicals (photosynthesis),” Cantor, one of the pioneers of human genome project (a world-wide project to map human genome completely) and currently chief scientific officer of Sequenom Inc, California, USA, said.

However, the scientists said a wide gap between theory and practice still exists. Cantor said very soon there would a direct computer human interface which would enable humans to communicate with computers directly.

Already scientists in Caltech, US, have made an artificial nose that can smell like a human being.

Recently a group of German scientists from Munich has discovered that there is a strong possibility of crosstalk between a brain cell and a silicon chip, Nobel Laureate Erwin Nehrer said.

“Such discoveries would help achieve a human-computer interface where both sides can communicate with each other directly.”

Courtesy: Energy Era, Guwahati, October 1, 1999.

Grateful thanks to Energy Era.