Maynooth Univ. Creates World-first DNA Computer

Researchers at Maynooth University (MU) have developed a first-of-its-kind DNA computer, described as one of the most complex and fastest molecular computers yet reported.

The breakthrough, published in the flagship journal Nature , demonstrates a molecular computer made from strands of DNA that can perform multiplication, division and addition. Unlike conventional computers that run on silicon chips, the system is a collection of interacting DNA strands in water without a continuous electricity supply and needing only a little heat to kick-start the computation.

The research points to new possibilities for long-term data storage, energy-efficient computation and, in time, molecular systems that could operate inside cells for applications such as disease detection.