MOST of us dread computer viruses, but what about a computer that’s made of
viruses? Strange as it sounds, plant viruses can now be turned into the building
blocks of microprocessors. Their inventors say the tiny biocircuits could even
be used inside the body to make a new breed of sensors that detect blood glucose
levels, for instance.
But why use a virus? The big attraction is that at just 30 nanometres across,
they are far smaller than the 130-nanometre wide components in today’s
microchips. It’s getting tougher and more expensive to shrink conventional
microchip technology, so the viral approach…
