#dna computing

It’s all thanks to a man called Leonard Adleman. He was the one that came up with the idea to solve math problems with them ^. He realised that DNA had this untapped potential after reading “Molecular Biology of the Gene” by James Watson, who we all know is the co-discoverer of DNA structure (yeah, Watson and Crick, who didn’t give credit to the woman who gave the X-Rays, Rosalind Franklin). He realised that DNA was sort of similar to a hard drive, in that it stores permanent information about your genes. So he came up with a way to solve a commonly known math problem with it, the travelling salesman problem. 

Here’s how he did it using his test-tube DNA computer:

3 years after this experiment, a team of dedicated researchers at the University of Rochester developed logic gates made of DNA. We should all know what a logic gate is, but if not *insert homemade infographic here*

Logic gates, at the mo, interpret input signals that come from silicon transistors and converts them into an output signal that allows your computer to do the things that it does :) 

The DNA logic gates work similarly, but instead of using electrical signals, the logic gates are relying on DNA code. What they do, is they detect ickle fragments of genetic material, (this is the input), shove it all together and make a single output. In an AND gate, two DNA inputs are joined together with a chemical bind and they’re locked in and end to end structure. These logic gates + DNA biochips = BREAKTHROUGH. 

The computer components discussed above will take a very long time to develop into a practical, usable DNA computer, but if it ever materialises, it is theorised that it will be more compact, accurate and efficient than anything we’ve got right now. 

There are several advantages to using DNA computers rather than the silicone components that make up our conventional computers:

- The supply is renewable as long as there are cellular creatures. When there’s not, we’re dead so it doesn’t matter ;)

- There’s sooo much DNA everywhere. Since there’s so much, it will be a cheap resource :3

- Ew, ew, ew, toxic materials that are used to make microprocessors aren’t needed with DNA microchips :) Clean as a whistle. 

- They will be so much smaller! But also hold a butt load more data:) 

One pound of DNA has the capacity to store more information than all of the electrical computers EVER BUILT. #mental And what’s more, a DNA computer the size of a teardrop will be more powerful than the world’s supercomputer. The more DNA, the more calculations that can be done at a time. 

This is because they do the calculations parallel rather than in a line like conventional computers and therefore can do many at a time without interference.