Journal of the American Chemical Society<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\nScientists are researching ways of using DNA to replace chips, electrical circuits and other materials found within a computer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we\u2019re at baby steps now, it\u2019s not something like what we know as a computer yet,\u201d says Li. \u201cWhat we have now, if you can imagine, is something more like a calculator where you can use DNA to solve mathematical questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
DNA computers can also be used to store information.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiving creatures use DNA to store basic genetic information, so in principle, you can save anything into DNA,\u201d he says. \u201cFor example, there are researchers who coded an entire book into DNA sequences. It\u2019s different from hardware; you only need a tiny amount of DNA to store an entire book.\u201d<\/p>\n
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule that contains information from genes that regulates all living organisms\u2019 growth, development, functions and reproduction.<\/p>\n
When someone types on the keyboard of a conventional computer, the machine generates binary codes, which consist of a series of 0s and 1s that represent each letter, symbol and anything else is entered into a computer. For example, \u201801100001\u2019 represents the letter \u2018a.\u2019<\/p>\n
The codes, in turn, translate what is entered into the computer into the form of text, graphics or other things we see on the computer screen. Binary codes are used in various methods of encoding data in computing and telecommunications. They are currently produced and transmitted by silicon-based technologies.<\/p>\n
Scientists discovered that DNA is able to generate binary codes just like computers do. And it does not require electricity or materials such as silicon, aluminum and cobalt to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cChemicals generate their own energy,\u201d explains Li. \u201cDNA mimics the electrical currents in the current computer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many people who are interested in developing DNA for use in information technology,\u201d says Li. \u201cThe big idea is to use DNA as a computing component to construct a molecular computer. It\u2019s not the electricity-based computer we use now, but rather the fundamental units are molecules of DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n
What we \u2018input\u2019 into a DNA computer are not letters typed on a keyboard but strands of DNA that have been altered to produce a certain result.<\/p>\n
Inside the computer are more DNA strands, which \u2018read\u2019 and interpret the incoming DNA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe physical structures of the DNA molecules are re-arranged; these new structures will give you a series of 0s and 1s,\u201d says Li.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s where Li and his team\u2019s research comes in.<\/p>\n
The team developed a method \u2014 called the \u2018allosteric DNA toehold (A-toehold) strategy\u2019 \u2014 in which DNA molecules can be manipulated using the principle of allostery, which has been used widely for regulating enzyme activities by nature.<\/p>\n
This is done within the context of a process called \u201ctoehold exchange,\u201d in which an input DNA strand binds to a sticky end, or \u2018toehold,\u2019 on another DNA molecule.<\/p>\n
Li explains that the toehold exchange method streamlines the design of DNA circuits.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to use DNA to replace a computer, you also need to somehow manipulate those DNA strands the way you want,\u201d explains Li. \u201cYou need rules to manipulate those DNA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are existing rules you can use to manipulate DNA, but what we\u2019re trying to do is to simplify this process by providing alternative rules. If you simplify the design, you save DNA molecules, you save money.\u201d<\/p>\n
How the output of the DNA computer \u2014 a screen displaying text, graphics and video in our current conventional computers \u2014 will be displayed for the average user is still unknown in the long run, says Li.<\/p>\n
Li and his team\u2019s research, \u201cRegulation of DNA Strand Displacement Using an Allosteric DNA Toehold<\/a>,\u201d was published recently in the Journal of the American Chemical Society<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Brock University research team has created a tool that can potentially be used in a future computer that will be made out of DNA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":42410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3319,4052,188,55,41,1,4,5],"tags":[4700,4243,894],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42409"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42409"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42412,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42409\/revisions\/42412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}