DNA^2DNA Computations: A Potential Killer Application?

ABSTRACT
Recently there has been great interest in using DNA to build computers. The potential advantage is the immense parallelism inherent in such a computer. However, whether or not such computers can ever beat electronic machines is currently problematic. In this talk we will first survey the main advantages and disadvantages of such computers. Then, we will introduce a new type of DNA computer. These perform what we call DNA^2DNA computations. Such computations use DNA computers not to solve hard digital problems. Instead they use them to solve hard problems concerning DNA itself. Such problems include, for example, sequencing and mutation detection of DNA.

(Joint work with L. Landweber of Princeton and M.O. Rabin of Harvard)