🔌 Logic circuit 🧬 Gene control

AND gate

5.3

A genetic circuit in a cell that turns a gene on only when all signals are present

noun
/ˈænd ɡeɪt/

Specialized

: puerta AND

Using an AND gate, the genetic circuit only produced the protein when both inputs A and B were present.

Examples

The researchers designed an AND gate to control gene expression based on multiple molecular signals.
In synthetic biology, the AND gate ensured that the desired genes were only activated when all necessary conditions were met.
And we know from this and gate that this has been locked into it's state.

Surface Forms

AND gate singular

AND gates plural

Morphology

and + gate

The meaning is compositionally derived: 'and' denotes conjunction (requiring all conditions) and 'gate' denotes a device that implements logic, so together they denote a device that only activates when all inputs are present. This is a regular, predictable naming pattern in technical language (and in other languages), so a learner who knows the constituent meanings can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

AND gate in synthetic biology comes from the picture of a tiny gate inside a cell that only opens when every needed chemical or signal is there, since AND means 'all must be true'. That's why the gene turns on only when all required inputs are 'present'.