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This paper is intended as a survey of the state of the art of some branches of Biomolecular Computing. Biomolecular Computing aims to use biological hardware (biomare), rather than chips, to build a computer. We discuss the following three main research directions: DNA computing, membrane systems, and gene assembly in ciliates. DNA computing combines practical results together with theoretical algorithm design. Various search problems have been implemented using DNA strands. Membrane systems are a family of computational models inspired by the membrane structure of living cells. The process of gene assembly in ciliates has been formalized as an abstract computational model. Biomolecular Computing is a field in full development, with the promise of important results from the perspective of both Computer Science (models of computation) and Biology (understanding biological processes).
An enzyme system organized in a flow device with three parallel channels was used to mimic a reversible Double Feynman Gate (DFG) with three input and three output signals. Reversible conversion of NAD+ and NADH cofactors was used to perform XOR logic operations, while biocatalytic oxidation of NADH resulted in Identity operation working in parallel. The first biomolecular realization of a DFG gate is promising for integrating into complex biomolecular networks operating in future unconventional biocomputing systems, as well as for novel biosensor applications.