Engineers at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the University of Minnesota claimed to have found a way to process data stored in DNA. The “microfluidic integrated circuit” they envision is designed to perform operations through artificial neural network computations on data stored in DNA, according to RIT.
“We are in the age of big data that needs to be stored somewhere. We don’t think that more data centers are the answer or even the best answer. Each data center requires the equivalent of a city block of power. Building, maintaining, and operating more traditional data centers is not sustainable,” said Amlan Ganguly, coauthor of a paper on the biocomputer published in PLOS One, in a press statement.
According to Ganguly, data stored on DNA is a highly unexplored area of research even though it is good at storing information. Theoretically, DNA can be three to six orders of magnitude more compact than most conventional memory hardware we use. It can also be more reliable and durable if used correctly.
There are many parallels between DNA and silicon-based conventional computing — The former can be used to sequence data where the latter reads it. The former is used to synthesize data whereas the latter writes it. Researchers like Ganguly are developing methods to manipulate materials at a molecular level in a bid to decrease electronic aspects of tech storage and move towards more biocompatible methods of storage and processing systems.
Apart from being more appropriate for forensics and biomedical applications, this technology could potentially pave the way for more robust storage systems that could improve data searches.
“We proposed to represent numbers through concentrations of solutions containing specifically
manipulated DNA molecules and computing operations as manipulation of DNA molecules—operations like addition and multiplication and other non-linear functions necessary for network computations can be performed. That is the bridge from storage to computation and using DNA as a vehicle to do the computation,” explained Ganguly.
The microfluidic system is designed to provide the output of an artificial neural network. While doing so, the device will function both as a sensor and a computer process that has small channels with embedded nanotech sensors to separate, detect, and attract molecules in liquid samples.
The article originally appeared on Indian Express.