Researchers are making strides in DNA-based computing, which could surpass silicon-based computers in speed and size. A new study shows a fast and rewritable way to do DNA-based computing that is similar to today’s digital processes. DNA can store a lot of information.
In living things, DNA is expressed in a sequence. It is transcribed into RNA and then translated into proteins. The new method uses DNA’s computing power in innovative ways, following this biological sequence.
Before, researchers showed that DNA computing could be used for specific tasks. But more general and programmable DNA devices were hard to make. Recently, Chunhai Fan, Fei Wang, and their team developed a programmable DNA integrated circuit with many logic gates.
These gates control the circuit’s operations, like silicon logic gates in regular computers. In the new method, short single-stranded DNA pieces called oligonucleotides interact with DNA logic gates in a fluid.
Innovative steps in DNA computing
For example, a logic gate might combine two DNA strands to make an output oligonucleotide. This output attaches to a specially folded DNA structure on a glass surface – the register. Importantly, this setup eliminates the need to manually transfer oligonucleotides between steps.
The DNA origami register is on a solid glass 2D surface. The output oligonucleotide can attach, be read, and then detach, resetting the register for reuse. The researchers also made an amplifier to boost the output signal.
This ensures the gates, oligonucleotides, and registers interact efficiently. In experiments, all DNA computing reactions were done in a single tube within 90 minutes. The researchers say, “This research paves the way for developing large-scale DNA computing circuits with high speed and lays the foundation for visual debugging and automated execution of DNA molecular algorithms.”
The study shows a big step towards practical DNA-based computing.
It was funded by various scientific foundations. The published abstract and details highlight how DNA-based computing could revolutionize data storage and processing in the future.
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