DNA computer solves logical problems, inches closer to practical use
By Vladislav Savov <http://www.engadget.com/editor/vladislav-savov>
<http://www.engadget.com/editor/vladislav-savov/rss.xml> posted Aug 10th
2009 12:06PM
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8184033.stm> The world of
biomolecular computing is hardly a lonely place:
bacteria<http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/29/bacteria-computer-is-good-at-math-even-those-pesky-story-proble/>,
enzymes<http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/24/enzyme-computers-could-live-inside-us-dispense-drugs/>,
and all manner of
chemicals<http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/29/chemists-craft-molecular-keypad-lock/>have
already been used to perform basic automated tasks. DNA computers are
arguably the most advanced organic form of "autonomous programmable
computing devices," with one already boasting a pretty tight game of
Tic-Tac-Toe<http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/16/meet-maya-ii-the-new-dna-computer-that-can-play-tic-tac-toe/>.
The latest, put together by the Israeli Weizmann Institute, advances things
with its ability to correctly respond to problems of logic. By feeding
molecular rules and facts into the system, the researchers are able to
program DNA strands to produce yes and no answers to basic questions.
Programming is said to be technically identical to that used in electronic
devices, with a robot <http://www.engadget.com/tag/robot> compiler
converting the programming language into molecular-level information. The
ultimate aim of the project is to produce miniscule disease-fighting bots
that can battle infections within the human body -- provided the
DNA-programming drones don't go all Yul Brynner on us.
[Thanks, Karl]
[image: source]Read <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8184033.stm>
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