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U.S. scientists have conducted the first successful test of an ultra-dense memory device that is expected to lead to the creation of a molecular computer.

A team of UCLA and California Institute of Technology chemists says its 160-kilobit memory device uses interlocked molecules manufactured in the UCLA laboratory of J. Fraser Stoddart, director of the California NanoSystems Institute.

Let’s see what molecular computers are and how will they shape our future.

What is a molecular computer and how is it different from a silicon/electronic computer we use today?

Millions of natural supercomputers exist inside living organisms, including your body. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecules, the material our genes are made of, have the potential to perform calculations many times faster than the world’s most powerful human-built computers.

According to the Wikipedia:
Molecular computers are massively parallel computers taking advantage of the computational power of molecules (specifically biological).
According to Molecular Computing Elements
A molecular computer can be constructed using designed DNA and DNA binding proteins. Several versions of the device are possible. In the simplest device, bacteria or other cells are programmed with DNA sequences and DNA binding proteins that execute logical Boolean operations. It is also possible to construct molecular computers outside cells, but in this case special attention must be paid to providing energy to run the computer. The technology is based on the concept of a molecular flip-flop in which one or more proteins compete for binding to binding sites that overlap. Because only one protein can bind at a time but there are two ways for it to bind, the method can also be used to double the sensitivity of diagnostic assays.

All electronic computers work according to a mathematical model developed by John von Neumann in the 1940s, called the stored program computer. In it both program and data are stored as words in the computer memory. Each memory word can be accessed by its address. The electronic computer fetches program instructions one by one from its memory and executes them. Typically the instructions are to load data from a certain memory location into a register, to store the content of a register into a memory location, or to perform an operation on registers, for example to add the content of two registers and store the result in a third register.

If you are very curious about this topic then please visit The Laboratory for Biomolecular Computers.

Is it a successor to Silicon?

This is what HowThingsWork has to say on that:

Silicon microprocessors have been the heart of the computing world for more than 40 years. In that time, manufacturers have crammed more and more electronic devices onto their microprocessors. In accordance with Moore’s Law, the number of electronic devices put on a microprocessor has doubled every 18 months. Moore’s Law is named after Intel founder Gordon Moore, who predicted in 1965 that microprocessors would double in complexity every two years. Many have predicted that Moore’s Law will soon reach its end, because of the physical speed and miniaturization limitations of silicon microprocessors.

DNA computers have the potential to take computing to new levels, picking up where Moore’s Law leaves off. There are several advantages to using DNA instead of silicon:

• As long as there are cellular organisms, there will always be a supply of DNA.
• The large supply of DNA makes it a cheap resource.
• Unlike the toxic materials used to make traditional microprocessors, DNA biochips can be made cleanly.
• DNA computers are many times smaller than today’s computers.

DNA’s key advantage is that it will make computers smaller than any computer that has come before them, while at the same time holding more data. One pound of DNA has the capacity to store more information than all the electronic computers ever built; and the computing power of a teardrop-sized DNA computer, using the DNA logic gates, will be more powerful than the world’s most powerful supercomputer. More than 10 trillion DNA molecules can fit into an area no larger than 1 cubic centimeter (0.06 cubic inches). With this small amount of DNA, a computer would be able to hold 10 terabytes of data, and perform 10 trillion calculations at a time. By adding more DNA, more calculations could be performed.Unlike conventional computers, DNA computers perform calculations parallel to other calculations. Conventional computers operate linearly, taking on tasks one at a time. It is parallel computing that allows DNA to solve complex mathematical problems in hours, whereas it might take electrical computers hundreds of years to complete them.

What promises does this technology hold for us?

As summed up very appropriately on essortment:

The race to create the molecular computer is not just a race of competing technologies, but and attempt to maximize the efficency, effectiveness, and usefulness of the computer. The first to successfully created a working molecular computer will be able to create the microscopic nano-machines that will be able to build and repair things at a fundamental level. They will create a new technology that will change everything from medicine to space exploration. Both technologies hold promise, have limits, and will have a profound impact on every aspect of society. If history is any indicator, the potential of this prospective new technology is beyond measure. Computers small enough to operate machines which could travel through your bloodstream, repair your body, or monitor the flow of oil in an engine, or fight disease.

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