As per them, they have developed strands of synthetic DNA that when mixed in a test tube results into formation of an analog circuit. It has been used in problem-solving, in calculating square roots and in playing strategy games like tic-tac-toe. The Duke University researchers toyed around with DNA and managed to make an analog circuit out of it that can do basic mathematical operations like addition and subtraction.
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DNA circuits aren’t new, they’ve been around for some time and are created to solve issues like computing square roots and playing games like tic tac toe. What happens next is a single DNA strand will perfectly bind to the end of a partially double-stranded DNA.
As the reaction reaches equilibrium, the researchers measure concentrations of outgoing strands to solve math problems, based on input concentrations and the predictable nature of locking DNA. It can take hours to get an answer. Theoretically, analog DNA circuits can be used to make some very sophisticated operations such as logarithms and exponentials – this is next on the list, for the Duke team. And unlike electronic circuits, DNA circuits work in wet environments, which might make them useful for computing inside the bloodstream or the soupy, cramped quarters of the cell.
When a single strand encounters a ideal match at the end of one of the partially double-stranded ones, it latches on and binds, displacing the previously bound strand and causing it to detach, like someone cutting in on a dancing couple. In the past few decades, scientists have come up with new ways to use DNA for other purposes. They have also been testing the circuit experimentally in the lab. These researchers made a nanoscale computer that utilizes artificial DNA and is analog.
The new Duke apparatus performs computations in an analog manner by quantifying the changing concentrations of particular DNA molecules without needing special circuitry to convert them to zeroes and one’s first.
Now, however, a team of biologists at Duke University has created an circuit out of DNA that’s analogue – meaning that it doesn’t require conversion.
Analog circuits are also better suited for sensing signals that don’t lend themselves to simple on-off, all-or-none values, such as vital signs and other physiological measurements involved in diagnosing and treating disease. They are also optimistic that further developments on other DNA devices will soon be able to detect cancer cells or release substances that can strengthen the immune system.
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Reif said that even with its limitations, simple DNA computing may still have important impacts in the field of medicine or science.
