Novel DNA Computer

Description:

TechID: I1392

Penn researchers have developed a DNA procedure for solving a difficult problem in the mathematics of linear algebra, the calculation of the determinant of sparse matricies. Using small segments of DNA to represent each element in a matrix, this procedure leads to the construction of larger DNA molecules which represent all of the non-zero terms in the determinant of the sparse matrix. Because of the large number of potential terms in the determinant of sizeable matricies, this problem is difficult to solve by standard computer techniques.