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Trends in computing with DNA

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Abstract

As an emerging new research area, DNA computation, or more generally biomolecular computation, extends into other fields such as nanotechnology and material design, and is developing into a new sub-discipline of science and engineering. This paper provides a brief survey of some concepts and developments in this area. In particular several approaches are described for biomolecular solutions of the satisfiability problem (using bit strands, DNA tiles and graph self-assembly). Theoretical models such as the primer splicing systems as well as the recent model of forbidding and enforcing are also described. We review some experimental results of self-assembly of DNA nanostructures and nanomechanical devices as well as the design of an autonomous finite state machine.

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Correspondence to Nataša Jonoska.

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This work has been partially supported by the National Science Foundation of USA under Grants No.EIA-0086015 and No.EIA-0074808.

Nataša Jonoska received the B.S. degree in mathematics and computer science in 1984 from Univerity, of Cyril & Methodius in Skopje, Macedonia. She obtained a Ph.D. degree in mathematical sciences from the State University of New York in Binghamton in 1993 and joined the faculty at the University of South Florida (USF) the same year. Now she is an associate professor in mathematics at USF and her research includes formal language theory, biomolecular computation, and symbolic dynamics. She organized the 7th International Meeting on DNA Based Computers and has served on the Program Committee of this conference for several years.

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Jonoska, N. Trends in computing with DNA. J. Comput. Sci. & Technol. 19, 98–113 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02944788

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