Making Computer Memory From a Virus

An Ac writes, "By coating 30-nanometre-long chunks of tobacco mosaic virus with platinum nanoparticles, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have created a transistor with very fast switching speed. They say it could eventually be used to make memory chips for MP3 players and digital cameras. A device fitted with such a virus-chip would access data much more quickly than one using flash memory."

until you catch the virus

[Loconut1389]

What if I drop the thing and cut myself on the memory? Will I get songs stuck in my head forever?

Re:until you catch the virus

[idkk]

Yes - and they will be faster than normal!

Last time

[jlebrech]

The last time I had a virus, I ended up with less memory.

Great

[arun_s]

If you've got any illegal MP3's, your player kills you.
Judge, jury and executioner all in one!

Yeah, I think that everyday...

[hummassa]

as I lunch some tenderloin with bacon and after, when I watch TV on my leather couch while drinking some beer. And cheese. :-)

Re:Ethical concerns

[CosmeticLobotamy]

I think we should be asking ourselves "Is it really ok to subvert lifeforms like this for our own use?"

I'd answer, but my mouth is full of animal and vegetable lifeform. It's delicious.

Re:Buzzzzzwords!

[TaoPhoenix]

Will the NCSA get involved because of the infringement on Mosaic?

Re:Ethical concerns

[TaoPhoenix]

"Is it really okay to subvert ' lifeforms ' like this?"

After all, they are trumpeting speed, but won't the legendary instability of the biological world come into view?

"Ooh, look. My memory mutated. It wasn't intelligently designed."

who's on first?

[circletimessquare]

"you have a virus in memory"

"i know, my memory is made of viruses"

"no, i mean, there is a memory resident virus on your computer"

"no, the memory resides on the viruses"

"let me rephrase: your memory, made of viruses, has a virus"

"so you're telling me i have more viruses... so i have more memory? yeah!"

"no, this is a bad thing, you don't want viruses on your computer"

"you told me last week i want the most memory i can on my computer, and that's made of viruses"

"yes... i mean no, i mean..." (smacks forehead)

Designer Viruses - extreme weirdness

[spineboy]

I can't wait until designer prankster viruses come out. Imagine that instead of becoming sick, weird things happened to people. They might really! stink for a day, have their tongue turn numb, develop inappropriate laughter, only want to eat orange colored food, etc.

Might be kinda of fun - it would be like gold(?) kryptonite, but for people. Gold (I think) kryptonite had weird unpredictable effects of Superman. It might make the world a little more fun. Imagine going to some very stuffy conservative place, and everyone was burping all day long.
Abuse potential would be rampant though. Someone from here might want to design a strain to make reallllllly hot chicks want to have sex with smelly fat geeks.

Not suitable for Macs

[SanderDJ]

Steve (a veganist) won't have any of this. Living creatures serving as memory. Yuk!

Reverse-reverse meme?

[Unique2]

In the United States of America your computer runs on a virus!

Future trends...

[Savage-Rabbit]

If you've got any illegal MP3's, your player kills you.
Judge, jury and executioner all in one!

So what you are hypothesizing is that in a few years we will see a Microsoft Zune or iPods with Sony EbolaFlash® memory chip technology.

Dual-purpose memory

[StringBlade]

Not only does it run faster than conventional memory, it's an anti-smoking chip: if it catches you smoking at the computer it infects your cigar/cigarette with itself [wikipedia.org]

Re:until you catch the virus

[Nocturnal Deviant]

so you mean Metallica will sound like the chipmunks in your head for eternity....oh great "SANATARIUM" screamed by Alvin, Simon, and Theodore......

Re:Ethical concerns

[famebait]

This raises an ethical concern for me. I think we should be asking ourselves "Is it really ok to subvert lifeforms like this for our own use?"

Yes, it's a slippery slope. If we allow this, before you know it they will be using higher life forms like plants or even animals to serve human needs.

The first?

[gmby]

So is this the first analog computer virus?

Your search - "analog computer virus" - did not match any documents.

Looks like google agrees.

Copyright violation

[Sir Homer]

If the virus starts replicating, are they commiting copyright violation?

How will the RIAA sue? I'm sure they will find a way.

Re:Very fast switching speed????

[noigmn]

But think about how good it will be when they can do these things with higher level lifeforms. For instance if we could use people to switch things and their brains to do complex calculations and somehow network them together using some form of complex communication made up of various sequences of sound...

MP3 player memory for Zune?

[pete.com]

It will come pre-loaded with viral material saving you the time and effort of gathering it yourself.

Re:Ethical concerns

[Sushhh]

Most would consider a virus to be non-living.

Ah, so virii are like zombies! ...No, I mean, like dead zombies! ...No, wait...

Re:Buzzzzzwords!

[dpmapping]

Tobacco?
Good job the internet is made of Pipes!!!
Now we have something to put in those Pipes...

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Pimp that Virus

[giafly]

What will those crazy scientists bling next?

Re:Ethical concerns

[Anonymous Coward]

Lets not forget that viruses main function is to subvert other lifeforms for their own use/benefit. So think of it more as a cultural exchange.

Re:who's on first?

[Chris Mattern]

That is not a small number! That is a BIG number!

Chris Mattern

Re:Designer Viruses - extreme weirdness

[TrekkieGod]

it would be like gold(?) kryptonite, but for people. Gold (I think) kryptonite had weird unpredictable effects of Superman.

That would be red. Gold kryptonite could permanently remove his powers.

This was just a test to bring us ultra nerds out in the open wasn't it? Damn, alright I confess. I'm not just a trekkie, I'm a comic book guy as well.

Re:who's on first?

[indifferent children]

Running Microsoft Anti-Virus: working...working...working...out of memory.

RIAA....

[mrops]

Wow dude, RIAA is gonna hire a hitman to take you down for the copyright infringement.

There is no way you can claim fairuse if you have a copy of songs etched in your neurons.

Living?

[Sienf]

Yeah, and what happens if people will reconsider that viruses might be living?

Next thing we know, PETA will be protesting against using the poor buggers in transistors.