The work of the five-person team was published this week in the journal Nature.<\/p>\n
A team of Maynooth University researchers has developed a \u201cthermodynamically favoured molecular computer\u201d that is thought to be one of the most complex and fastest DNA computers yet created.<\/p>\n
The work of Prof Damien Woods, Dr Abeer Eshra, Dr Constantine Evans, Janet Adio and Dr Tristan St\u00e9rin was published this week (16 September) in the journal Nature.<\/p>\n
Their research demonstrates a molecular computer made from strands of DNA that can perform multiplication, division and addition. Unlike conventional computers that run on silicon chips, the system is a collection of interacting DNA strands in water without a continuous electricity supply that needs only a small amount of heat to kick-start computations.<\/p>\n
Woods said: \u201cSilicon-based computers use so much energy; 23pc of Ireland\u2019s electricity goes into computing and data storage. We\u2019ve been blinkered by only seeing one type of computer, but there are other examples around us, including our brain.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the university, the research points to new possibilities for long-term data storage, energy-efficient computation and molecular systems that could operate inside cells for applications such as disease detection.<\/p>\n
The team created the DNA computer by adding a small drop of water and salt to a test tube, together with short pieces of DNA and a longer DNA scaffold. This \u2018recipe\u2019 was then heated and cooled, allowing the DNA to perform a computation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe molecules interact, form a structure and that structure is the answer. One key innovation is that the system naturally finds that answer without needing continuous energy inputs,\u201d said Woods.<\/p>\n
The university said its DNA computer was \u201cshown to be robust and reusable\u201d and was capable of performing up to 25 different calculations in a row.<\/p>\n
\u201cA small droplet of liquid contains billions, and sometimes trillions, of DNA strands. These strands interact with one another to produce a result,\u201d said Eshra.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reaction happens fast in the test tube, but not as fast as silicon \u2013 nor is it intended to be. But compared to other DNA computers, ours is the fastest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woods leads an EU-funded DNA computing initiative at the university\u2019s Hamilton Institute that explores alternative forms of computing.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThis is blue-skies science. We don\u2019t know where the future is going to take us.\u201d The team\u2019s Nature-published research can be viewed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n