  We consider possible designs and experimental realiza-tions in synthesized
rather than naturally occurring bio-chemical systems of a selection of basic
bio-inspired information processing steps. These include feed-forward loops,
which have been identified as the most common information processing motifs in
many natural pathways in cellular functioning, and memory-involving processes,
specifically, associative memory. Such systems should not be designed to
literally mimic nature. Rather, we can be guided by nature's mechanisms for
experimenting with new information/signal processing steps which are based on
coupled biochemical reactions, but are vastly simpler than natural processes,
and which will provide tools for the long-term goal of understanding and
harnessing nature's information processing paradigm. Our biochemical processes
of choice are enzymatic cascades because of their compatibility with
physiological processes in vivo and with electronics (e.g., electrodes) in
vitro allowing for networking and interfacing of enzyme-catalyzed processes
with other chemical and biochemical reactions. In addition to designing and
realizing feed-forward loops and other processes, one has to develop approaches
to probe their response to external control of the time-dependence of the
input(s), by measuring the resulting time-dependence of the output. The goal
will be to demonstrate the expected features, for example, the delayed response
and stabilizing effect of the feed-forward loops.
