DNA computing (redirected from Biological computer)

DNA computing

Form of computing in which DNA molecules are used instead of digital logic circuits. The biological cell is regarded as an entity that resembles a sophisticated computer. The four amino acid bases that are constituents of DNA, traditionally represented by the letters A, T, C, and G, are used as operators, as the binary digits 0 and 1 are used in computers. DNA molecules are encoded to a researcher's specifications and then induced to recombine (see recombination), resulting in trillions of “calculations” simultaneously. The field is in its infancy and its implications are only beginning to be explored. See also quantum computing.

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(architecture)

DNA computing - The use of DNA molecules to encode computational problems. Standard operations of molecular biology can then be used to solve some NP-hard search problems in parallel using a very large number of molecules. The exponential scaling of NP-hard problems still remains, so this method will require a huge amount of DNA to solve large problems. [L. M. Adleman, "Molecular Computation of Solutions to Combinatorial Problems", Science 266:1021-1024, 1994].