Researchers at Maynooth University (MU) have developed a first-of-its-kind DNA computer, described as one of the most complex and fastest molecular computers yet reported.
The breakthrough, published in the flagship journal Nature , 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 and needing only a little heat to kick-start the computation.
The research points to new possibilities for long-term data storage, energy-efficient computation and, in time, molecular systems that could operate inside cells for applications such as disease detection.
Professor Damien Woods of Maynooth University's Hamilton Institute said the work opens a new direction for computing: "Silicon-based computers use so much energy – 23% of Ireland's electricity goes into computing and data storage. We've been blinkered by only seeing one type of computer, but there are other examples around us, including our brain."
Dr Abeer Eshra , Assistant Professor and computer scientist at MU's Hamilton Institute, who conducted many of the experiments, said: "A small droplet of liquid contains billions, and sometimes trillions, of DNA strands. These strands interact with one another to produce a result."
MU's leadership in DNA computing is supported by a €4 million European Innovation Council grant led by Professor Woods . The DISCO project, DNA-based infrastructure for Storage and Computation, aims to develop new ways to compute and store data using DNA technology.
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. The recipe is heated and then cooled, allowing the DNA to perform a computation. "The molecules interact, form a structure and that structure is the answer," said Professor Woods. "One key innovation is that the system naturally finds that answer without needing continuous energy inputs," he added.
The researchers ran ten programmes, including 100-bit computations. One experiment added numbers in the range of about 11 million to 34 million taking up to 14 hours to reach a result, while a calculation of 10 plus 3 took only 30 seconds.
The Maynooth University DNA computer was shown to be robust and reusable, performing up to 25 different calculations in a row. "The reaction happens fast in the test tube, but not as fast as silicon, nor is it intended to be. But compared to other DNA computers, ours is the fastest," said Dr Eshra, joint first author of the Nature study alongside Dr Tristan Stérin . The paper's co-authors also included Senior Research Fellow Dr Constantine Evans and undergraduate researcher Janet Adio .
Prof Woods added that the research is part of a broader effort to explore alternative forms of computing: "This is blue skies science. We don't know where the future is going to take us."
