title: Convert string of 0 and 1 to it's binary equivalent python
body: <p>I have a string of 6 characters (only 0s and 1s)on which I have to use binary operations. I came across a few pages but most mentioned converting characters to binary and appending them to give the final result.</p>
  
  <p>I have to use it in this function</p>
  
  <pre><code>def acmTeam(topic):
      global finalCount
      for i in range(len(topic)-1):
          for j in range(i+1,len(topic)):
              final=toBinary(topic[i])|toBinary(topic[j])
              print(final)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>One example value of topic is </p>
  
  <pre><code>['10101', '11100', '11010', '00101']
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>and i want 10101 and 11100 binary values</p>
  
  <p>Here I can create my own function toBinary to convert it to binary equivalent and return, but is there any inbuilt function or more efficient way to do so in python?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks in advance :)</p>