Gabriele Gramelsberger: Towards Wetware Computing
Blue Skies – Bodies in Trouble

Themes
Discourse

Lecture: Gabriele Gramelsberger Moderation: Nada Schroer

DNA is seen as a natural form of infor­mation storage, and cells are interpreted as living programs that have been suc­cessfully replicating code for ages. Both DNA and cells are increasingly used as wetware computers — computers made of organic material. A chronological, retrospective look at the developments that have lead to today’s wetware computers takes us from Alfred James Lotka’s ›Elements of Physical Biology‹ (1925) to Claude Shannon’s ›Algebra for Theoretical Genetic‹ (1940), George M. Church’s et al. ›DNA­Storage‹ (2012), and Jerome Bonnet’s et al. ›Transcrip­tor‹ which was developed in 2013 and functions as the genetic equivalent to an electronic transistor. DNA is seen as a natural form of infor­mation storage, and cells are interpreted as living programs that have been suc­cessfully replicating code for ages. Both DNA and cells are increasingly used as wetware computers — computers made of organic material.

In the framework of: Blue Skies – Bodies in Trouble (10. – 14.07.2019) 
The growing impact of technology on life as we know it brings changes to our bodies, our communities and the environment—what can we do? How can we understand and shape these changes collectively? ›Blue Skies‹ is a festival series conceived to run over several years that invites us to think together. The first edition took place at PACT from July 10 to July 14 under the title ›Bodies in Trouble‹ encompassing performances and contemporary art works, panels, discussions and workshops.

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