Turns out that DNA, the molecule of life, can double as a calculator.
Researchers at Caltech have designed a circuit made from strands of DNA that can add and subtract numbers and even calculate square roots. In this new method, each strand of DNA represents 1’s and 0’s, the binary numbers used in digital circuits. Researchers can design a DNA molecule to represent a specific number then coax this molecule to interact with other DNA molecules. After the strands of DNA undergo their natural processes of zipping and unzipping, new DNA strands emerge, and the original strand now represents a new binary number–the solution to the math problem. Read more about the amazing study that has major implications for both genetics and mathematics.