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01:24 07.03.2017(updated 06:23 07.03.2017) Get short URL

All existing computers, fromthe building-sized Sunway Taihulight supercomputer inChina tothe device you are using toread this article, are based onthe principles ofa Turing machine. Named forManchester's own Dr. Alan Turing, Turing machines are theoretical devices that run ona set ofstrict instructions. A typical deterministic Turing machine (DTM) might have a direction: "If my state is A, then perform task 1."

The DNA computer would however be a non-deterministic universal Turing Machine (NUTM). An NUTM is a Turing machine that can solve multiple tasks atonce that a DTM can only solve one ata time. In the example above, an NUTM might have the direction: "If my state is A, then perform tasks 1-1,000,000,000" thus performing a trillion tasks simultaneously.

Imagine a computer program designed tosolve a maze. The program comes toa fork inthe road. An ordinary electronic computer chooses one path and sees where it leads, trying another if that first path fails toget it outof the maze. An NUTM can go downevery path simultaneously byreplicating itself, thus solving the maze far more quickly.

The problem is, ofcourse, how tobuild a computer that can rapidly replicate itself. Manchester's solution is tobuild a processor outof DNA molecules, which "is an excellent medium forinformation processing and storage."

AP Photo/ Li Xiang/Xinhua

"It is very stable, asthe sequencing ofancient DNA demonstrates. It can also reliably be copied, and many genes have remained virtually unchanged forbillions ofyears," the study said, adding that, "As DNA molecules are very small, a desktop computer could potentially utilise more processors thanall the electronic computers inthe world combined and therefore outperform the world's current fastest supercomputer, while consuming a tiny fraction ofits energy."

Team member Ross King said that while DNA computers were first proposed inthe 1990s, the Manchester group is the first todemonstrate that such a machine is feasible. They claim that Thue, a theoretical programming language written in2000 byJohn Colagioia, can convert existing computers intoNUTMs.

NUTMs should not be confused withquantum computers. Quantum computers exploit quantum mechanics toprocess ata much faster rate thanelectronic computers. Quantum computers are probabilistic Turing machines (PTM) which might say: 'if my state is A, then perform task 190 percent ofthe time and task 210 percent ofthe time." Quantum computers would be much faster thanelectronic computers, butwhile theoretical quantum computers are inthe works inlaboratories all overthe world, no one has found a way tobuild one that functions inthe real world.

The University ofManchester team claims that their NUTM model would be superior toquantum computing. "Quantum computers are an exciting other form ofcomputer, and they can also follow both paths ina maze, butonly if the maze has certain symmetries, which greatly limits their use," said King.

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More importantly, quantum computers would still rely onsilicon chips, just likeelectronic computers. As small asthose chips can get, they are unlikely tobecome smaller thana single DNA molecule. The less space a processor takes up, the more you can fit intoone computer.

Humanity is closer toquantum computers thanto those that are DNA-based. But whether the notion ofa computer made fromDNA excites or terrifies you, it is worth remembering that we humans run ona biocomputer. It's called a brain.

Read more:

Researchers Say It's Possible to Build a Self-Replicating DNA ... - Sputnik International