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Silicon microprocessors have been the heart of the computing world for more than 40 years. In that time, manufacturers have crammed more and more electronic devices onto their microprocessors.

DNA computers have the potential to take computing to new levels, picking up where Moore's Law leaves off. There are several advantages to using DNA instead of silicon:

As long as there are cellular organisms, there will always be a supply of DNA.

Unlike the toxic materials used to make traditional microprocessors, DNA biochips can be made cleanly.

DNA's key advantage is that it will make computers smaller than any computer that has come before them, while at the same time holding more data. One pound of DNA has the capacity to store more information than all the electronic computers ever built; and the computing power of a teardrop-sized DNA computer, using the DNA logic gates, will be more powerful than the world's most powerful supercomputer.

More than 10 trillion DNA molecules can fit into an area no larger than 1 cubic centimetre. With this small volume of DNA, a computer would be able to hold 10 terabytes of data, and perform 10 trillion calculations at a time. By adding more DNA, more calculations could be performed.

Unlike conventional computers, DNA computers perform calculations PARALLEL to other calculations. Conventional computers operate LINEARLY, taking on tasks one at a time. It is parallel computing that allows DNA to solve complex mathematical problems in hours, whereas it might take electrical computers hundreds of years to complete them.

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DNA computers are unlikely to feature word processing, e-mailing and solitaire programs. Instead, their powerful computing power will be used by national governments for cracking secret codes, or by airlines wanting to map more efficient routes.

It is thought that DNA computing, may have its biggest impact in for example, enabling a computing system to read and decode natural DNA directly. Such a computer also might be able to perform DNA "fingerprinting" - matching a sample of DNA, such as that in blood found at a crime scene, with the person from whom it came.

The DNA computer might be a cost-effective way to decode the genetic material of humans and other living things, and it might be able to create "wet data bases" of DNA for research purposes that would eliminate the time-consuming task of translating DNA into a form that can be stored in an electronic computer.

Current biomolecular computing technology is still far from overtaking the silicon chip. DNA computing is an infant discipline looking to find a way into real-world applications and a dream for scientists... a dream to harness the enormous data-storing capacity of DNA. It does seem to be the first example of true nanotechnology, forging a link between computational science and life science. Eventually, studying DNA computers may also lead us to a better understanding of the ultimate computer – the human brain.

The Future