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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Researchers at Caltech up DNA Computing scale

caltech dna computerCalifornia Technology Institute researchers have built what they seek more calculation circuit of the world is based on DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), using a technology that they said could easily scale to a greater complexity.

The development of the new approach, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, is an important step in the March towards the control of biological systems with standard information processing techniques. One day, DNA computer execute logical functions much like regular computers Silicon are today. But DNA computers would be much smaller and more easily integrated in biological systems, such as the human body. For example, biological circuits could directly integrated in the cells or tissues to detect and treat diseases.

Caltech researchers Erik Winfree and Lulu Qian published an account of their work in the June 3 of Science. "It is fundamentally a foundations of technology paper", Winfree wrote in an e-mail.

While simple DNA computer systems have been built before, this demonstration system is larger than the other prototypes to date.

"The approach adopted by Qian and Winfree marks an important advance in calculations based on DNA," writes John Reif, a Professor of computer science at Duke University, in a commentary that accompanied the work.

Researchers have formed 130 different synthetic strands of DNA that can be used to compose logical circuits. This source material, they have created a circuit 74-molecule, four bits which can calculate the square root of any number up to 15 and round to the bottom of the response to the nearest integer.

In their configuration layers multiple strands of DNA are shaped in biochemical logic gates that can perform the basic Boolean AND, OR and NOR operations performed by computer today transistor processors. As integrated Silicon circuits, these molecular logic gates produce signals of binary, or sur-ou-off, output binary signals as inputs.

Computational operations are carried out by replication and the binding of the DNA sequence. Prefabricated DNA molecules are immersed in a solution in a test tube. When they bump into the other, they can bind and produce offspring molecules which, in turn, can connect to other DNA strands, producing a logical chain.

Researchers have also developed a compiler which maps the logical operations handled by the user with the DNA circuits.

The work is a suite of tests earlier, completed in 2006, which has used a total of 12 DNA molecules. Since then, the researchers are focusing on the process simpler and more reliable, which could lead to larger systems based on the DNA.

Particular approach of researchers has a number of benefits, explained the Reif, who was not involved in the research. One is the simplicity. The biochemical reactions necessary to encode the DNA are well established. The process is also inherently scalable, which means that it could serve as the basis for much larger systems.

Reif also noted some disadvantages. One is the speed of calculation. The execution of a single door can take 30 to 60 minutes. The execution of a square root of four bits can take up to 10 hours.

However, researchers believe that this delay can be overcome. "Improving the molecular components to reduce crosstalk and leak could allow us to use higher concentrations, which could accelerate things 10 to 100 times, if it works," wrote Winfree. "Or, as we propose at the end of the book, molecular components on a surface of location should provide a wide range of benefits, including higher for large circuits speeds."

Joab Jackson covers the software business and technology General breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at Joab_Jackson @. Joab e-mail address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com

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