DNA COMPUTING

Presented by:
Tara Bhushan
(IT 2nd yr)
 DNA Computing

A relatively new form of computing that, instead

of using silicon-based technology, utilizes the
abilities of the DNA molecule and biochemistry.
 The DNA Molecule

 TheDNA is a double stranded

molecule.

 Each strand is based on 4 bases:

◦ Adenine (A)
◦ Thymine (T)
◦ Cytosine (C)
◦ Guanine (G)
 The DNA Molecule

 Those bases are linked through a

sugar (desoxyribose)

 IMPORTANT:
◦ The linkage between bases has a
direction.
◦ There are complementarities
between bases (Watson-Crick).
(A) (T)
(C)(G)
 DNA Memory
A string composed of a series of four types of units
(nucleotides), DNA may be viewed as logic
memory or gate.
Number System (Base 4):
Complement
Nucleotide Nucleotide
A T

C G
DNA binding
process

Two strings of DNA are bonded by paired nucleotides A-C and

C-G which may be considered as complements. Example:
Number TTACAG has a complement AATGTC
 DNA Memory
a t c g t c a t a
g g c a c t
DNA 0 0 0
memory 1 0 1
strands
t a g c c c g t g a

a t c g t c a t a
g

Making DNA Sequences

 DNA Computing

1010101011 GATCGACTAC
DNA Operators: lab technology
 Hybridization

 Ligation

 Polymerase Chain Reaction

 Gel Electrophoresis

 Affinity Separation

 Restriction Enzymes
 Why DNA computing
• Extremely dense information storage.
The 1 gram of DNA can hold about 1x1014 MB of data.

• Enormous parallelism.
A test tube of DNA can contain trillions of strands. Each operation on a test
tube of DNA is carried out on all strands in the tube in parallel !

• Extraordinary energy efficiency.

 Conventional computer
Vs.
DNA computer
DNA-based computers
slow at individual operations
can do billions of operations
simultaneously
can provide huge memory in small
space
Require considerable preparations
before
DNA is sensitive to chemical
deterioration
Microchip-based computers
fast at individual operations
can do substantially fewer
operations simultaneously
smaller memory
Immediate setup
electronic data are vulnerable but
can be backed up easily
 Limitations
DNA computing involves a relatively large
amount of error.
a) Common operation in handling DNA is filtering:
b) Chain Reaction for DNA amplification.
DNA filter
ATTGA..
Heterogenous
5% error rate ATGGA..
Single DNA
mix error solution
Rare type of to
Leads error,
highbut doeserror
output present
ratea problem
 Limitations
• DNA is redundant.
• The process required much human
intervention.
• Automation would be required for a real
computer.
• The computation time required to solve
problems with a DNA computer does not
grow exponentially, but amount of DNA
required DOES.
• Suited for specific problems, difficult to
generalize
 Future possibilities
a) Self-replication: Two for one

b) Self-repair:

c) DNA computer
mutation/evolution d) New meaning of a
computer virus ?
or
 Development Scale
Research
1950’s … 1994 2000 2002 2003

R.Feynman’s L.Adleman solves

Lucent Olympus Self powered
paper on sub Hamiltonian path
builds DNA computers DNA computer
microscopic problem using DNA
“motor”
computers Field started Commercial
1970’s … 1996 2000 2018

DNA used Affymetrix Human Commercial

in bio sells GeneChip Genome computer ?
application DNA analyzer Sequenced
 Development Scale
Olympus Computer
• First practical DNA Computer
• Tokyo (July 3rd, 2002)
• Olympus Optical Co. Ltd.
• First commercially practical DNA
computer
• Specializes in gene analysis•
 Development Scale
Israel’s First DNA computer
•Trillion could fit in a test tube
•Billions of ops/sec 99.8% accuracy
•First programmable autonomous computing
machine
•Input, output, software, and hardware all made
of DNA
•DNA comp inside cells to monitor cell vitals.
•It uses enzymes as a program that processes
on on the input data (DNA molecules).
Environment compatibility

DNA computer must aim to be compatible

with seven environments to succeed.
 Intrapsychic – Already complies since it has been
conceptualised!

 Construction/manufacture – This will be answered in

time.

 Adoption – Should inherit customer base of silicon

computers.
Environment compatibility

DNA computer must aim to be compatible

with seven environments to succeed.
 Use – Already seen the potential for this.

 Failure – Inherits this from silicon microprocessors.

 Scrapping – Cleaner to dispose of than current

microprocessors.

 Political/ecological – Could face opposition from

technophobes.
 Conclusion
DNA computers showing enormous potential, especially for medical purposes as well as data processing applications.
Still a lot of work and resources required to develop it into a fully fledged product.
Thank You !