Root extraction
A DNA-based biocomputer has calculated the square root of 900
A ten–bit programmable logic circuit based on 32 DNA chains was able to calculate the square root of 1, 4, 9, 16 - and so on up to 900. The success of its creators was reported on the pages of the scientific journal Small (Zhou et al., Programmable DNA Nanoindicator‐Based Platform for Large‐Scale Square Root Logic Biocomputing).
The authors of the article note that today DNA-based biocomputers can consist of several logical elements, but it has not yet been possible to carry out complex mathematical operations with their help. In the new system, incoming signals are optimized using output feedback to improve performance when performing complex logical actions.
Calculation is a process in which data is entered into the system, processed according to the rules laid down in it, and output as a result. Conventional silicon-based computers operate with zeros and ones, relying on electrical signals. For DNA-based biocomputers developed over the past decade, a change in the concentration of molecules in a test tube is used for data input and output. And if transistors cannot be infinitely reduced further due to physical limitations, biocomputers can be the beginning of a new era.
The work of the biocomputer described in the article is based on the fact that each DNA chain can complete a pair according to the principle of complementarity (matching links to each other). Researchers can encode a number from 1 to 900 in ten DNA links, and then attach glowing (fluorescent) tags to them. After that, scientists control the completion of the new chain so that the color of the fluorescence corresponds to a certain square root.
"The study represents a more universal approach for application in biology and bioengineering," the authors note in the article. They believe that DNA computers will one day be able to completely replace silicon.
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