This Breakthrough Computer Has No Chips—and Uses Trillions of DNA Strands to Do Math

A new DNA computer developed at Maynooth University has been found to perform mathematical operations using DNA strands, offering significant advances in molecular computing. The computer uses DNA strands interacting in a saline solution, without relying on electronic chips, and is claimed to require far less energy than traditional silicon computers. The research, published in Nature, highlights how the system uses heating and cooling to drive molecular interactions for computation.

The DNA computer was part of the DISCO project, led by Professor Damien Woods, with support from a €4 million grant. Researchers assembled short DNA strands on a larger scaffold and suspended them in a saline solution. The system performs calculations by heating and cooling the solution, allowing molecular interactions to occur. The computer can perform basic operations like addition and multiplication, though it is significantly slower than silicon-based systems.

The results show that the DNA computer can reliably perform a series of calculations, including solving 25 problems in succession. While it is not as fast as silicon computers, it represents a significant advancement in the speed and capabilities of DNA computing. The paper, titled “A Thermodynamically Favoured Molecular Computer: Robust, Fast, Renewable, Scalable,” was published in Nature on September 17, 2026.

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