DNA computing has sparked intense interest because more information can be stored on molecules of DNA than any silicon computer chip. Scientists estimate that a dried gram of DNA can store more information than a trillion CDs. Lloyd Smith and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison describe how they have transferred a set of DNA molecules from the test tube to a glass plate. It shows that DNA computing can be put in a form which is very amenable to automation.
Specific enzymes act like software to read, copy, and manipulate the code in predictable ways.
Smith says DNA is a potential way of getting around the problem of the silicon chip, which scientists believe cannot be scaled down much further. Infant Technology Smith cautions that DNA computing is still in its infancy and a long way from challenging chip technology. Only about a dozen centers around the world are working on DNA computing and much more needs to be done. Leonard Adleman of the University of Southern California came up with the idea of using DNA for computing in 1994. It was while reading a text on DNA that Adleman had a revelation.