By making DNA endlessly change, researchers have shown how a biological computer might one day solve problems much faster than conventional computers or even quantum computers. It’s still a long way from being functional though.
The DNA-based system is an experiment in how it may be possible to make a theoretical type of computer known as a non-deterministic universal Turing machine.
Such a machine could solve tricky problems much faster than existing computers. Imagine that a computer is trying to find the centre of a maze and has a choice between left and right. A conventional computer would turn in one direction and follow that path to the end, then try a different route if that one leads nowhere.
But a non-deterministic universal Turing machine would explore both paths simultaneously, and do so again every time the path splits until it has found the right route to the maze’s heart.
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