DNA For Information Processing and Data Storage

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday December 20, 2004 @08:14AM from the but-how-many-mp3s-can-it-store dept.

Haydn Fenton writes "Here is an article on using DNA for data storage and even information processing. From the article, "The DNA molecule - nature's premier data storage material - may hold the key for the information technology industry as it faces demands for more compact data processing and storage circuitry. A team led by Richard Kiehl, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Minnesota, has used DNA's ability to assemble itself into predetermined patterns to construct a synthetic DNA scaffolding with regular, closely spaced docking sites that can direct the assembly of circuits for processing or storing data.""

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It works on so many levels by antimatt · 2004-12-20 08:19 · Score: 5, Informative

And another thing: chemically, DNA is almost heroically unchanging. It is among the most unreactive, inert molecules in the biological world. That means data integrity, a Good Thing.
Performance Limits on Chemical Computation by tjic · 2004-12-20 08:34 · Score: 5, Informative

For those interested in such things, a friend wrote his PhD thesis on defining the limits of achievable DNA computation:
Performance Limits on Chemical Computation.