Imagine a device no bigger than a credit card that could extract your DNA from a drop of blood and map your entire genetic code while you wait. Within a short period of time the proneness to any illness or disease could be mapped and studied. Biologists and engineers will have ONE working in just a few years, because the tool that makes it possible, a genetic microarray known as the “DNA computer “, already exists. Able to scrutinize tens of thousands of genes at once, the DNA computer’s astonishing abilities are astounding biologists. Using these chips, people can in one afternoon confirm work that takes several years using conventional gene-sequencing processes. The chips aren’t just about increased speed. Using them, researchers can do things that were previously almost impossible, such as, uncovering the genetic machinations behind the complex biochemistry of organisms.

The scientists have devised a computer that can perform 330 trillion operations per second, more than 100,000 times the speed of the fastest PC. The secret: It runs on DNA.

Read the rest of this entry »