Comment by Centigonal
Comment by Centigonal 6 days ago
Could someone please explain what a genetic circuit is, for those out of the loop (like me)?
Comment by Centigonal 6 days ago
Could someone please explain what a genetic circuit is, for those out of the loop (like me)?
Protein A binds to DNA at a specific spot near Gene B and allows the cell to make more Protein B (which is the product of Gene B). Protein B then binds near Gene A and prevents Protein A from being produced. This causes oscillations as the genes A and B activate and repress each other. The details are quite a bit more complex, but that's the basic idea. You can get very complex circuits that implement very interesting and useful behavior. Imagine engineering an immune cell so that it only attacks cancer cells displaying certain proteins on it. More generally, an insanely complex web of interactions between genes and proteins and other chemicals governs the development of all multicellular organisms.