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DNA Solves Million-Answer NP-Complete Problem

Posted by timothy on from the combinations dept.

cybrpnk writes: "A 'DNA computer' has been used for the first time to find the only correct answer from over a million possible solutions to a computational problem. Leonard Adleman of the University of Southern California in the US and colleagues used different strands of DNA to represent the 20 variables in their problem, which could be the most complex task ever solved without a conventional computer. Details to be published in Science."

2 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. And in 5 years Microsoft will say... by Ozan · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...it's not a bug it's a mutation.

  2. It's only a matter of time... by guttentag · · Score: 4, Funny
    before we hear:

    It looks like you're attempting mitosis. Now would be a great time to sign up for a Passport account. WARNING: Are you sure you want to attempt mitosis without a Passport account? Your ancestors may regret it!

    And on the other side of the coin, the Open Source DNA advocates will be saying:
    You don't need a Passport account to have kids, honey. Yes, it's perfectly safe. Support? Who the hell told you Microsoft was going to support our child?! A free PC?!