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Maynooth University team builds world’s fastest DNA computer - DongA Science
A Maynooth University team led by Professor Damien Woods built a DNA computer that can perform addition, multiplication, and division, running up to 25 operations and 100-bit programs in a test-tube setup using DNA strands, water, and salt heated and cooled to execute calculations. The device operates with very little heat and could offer a more energy-efficient alternative to silicon-based computing, with the researchers reporting the fastest DNA computation to date in Nature.
Maynooth University team builds world’s fastest DNA computer - DongA Science # Maynooth University team builds world’s fastest DNA computer SoYeon Kim 2026.09.19 08:00 KST Test-tube DNA carries out up to 25 arithmetic operations, adding all numbers from 11 to 34 million in 14 hours A DNA computer that performs calculations using binding between DNA base sequences has been developed. Provided by Getty Images Bank. DNA in a test tube has been made to operate like a computer, performing up to 25 different operations in sequence. It took 30 seconds to calculate “10+3”. A team led by Professor Damien Woods at the Hamilton Institute, Maynooth University, has developed a DNA computer capable of multiplication, division, and addition, and reported their results in the international journal Nature on the 16th (local time). A DNA computer is a computing device that stores information using combinations of the four bases that make up DNA. Computation circuits are designed by programming DNA base sequences. It also performs operations that exploit the property of bases to autonomously pair with their specific counterparts. In contrast, widely used silicon semiconductor computers perform computations using circuits formed by connecting transistors and wires. The research team created the DNA computer by placing a small amount of water and salt, along with short and long strands of DNA, into a test tube. When this mixture was heated and then cooled, the DNA bases bound together according to the pre-designed base sequences, thereby carrying out the calculations. Using the DNA com…
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A compelling scientific breakthrough by Maynooth University building the world's fastest DNA computer, reported by DongA Science.
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- DongA Science reports that a Maynooth University team has built the world's fastest DNA computer capable of complex arithmetic inside a test tube.