Figure 6: Given a model of a DNA complex, the various kinds of reactions can be analyzed by a simulation.
automatically designing various types
of logic gates using this approach. We
also recently designed a DNA automaton in which different orders of multiple signals lead to different states of
the automaton.
IT AND THE OTHER SCIENCES
IT is targeted to the solution of specific problems, some of which, like environmental problems, are universal.
This research trend of IT is referred to
as “by” IT in contrast to the traditional
trend referred to as “of” IT, which aims
to improve IT itself. Although “of” IT
remains central, more and more real-world problems call for innovations in
“by” IT. We hope that more researchers
and engineers with IT backgrounds will
branch out into interdisciplinary fields
and solve problems in those fields.
Biographies
Masami Hagiya is a professor in the department of
computer science at the University of Tokyo. He has
been working on modeling, formalization, simulation,
verification, and automatic synthesis of computer systems.
He is dealing with not only systems composed of electronic
computers, but also biological and molecular systems, and
has been working on DNA and molecular computing.
Fumiaki Tanaka is an assistant professor in the
department of computer science at the University of
Tokyo. His specialty is sequence design for DNA computing
and DNA nanotechnology. He also tries to construct DNA
robots that can autonomously respond to various input
such as UV light.
Ibuki Kawamata is currently a graduate student in the
department of computer science at the University
of Tokyo. He is interested in biologically inspired
computational models. He is now researching a
methodology to automatically design an artificial system
using biological components.
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