DPGA:
[Fei Wang at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China and his colleagues] called the building blocks of their computer DNA-based programmable gate arrays (DPGA), and each DPGA could be designed to implement over 100 billion distinct circuits by adding different short molecules into its tube.
In one experiment, they connected three DPGAs, comprising about 500 DNA strands, to make a circuit that solves quadratic equations, and in another, they made a circuit for taking square roots. They input numbers by adding molecules of a specific shape that then participated in chemical reactions with molecules that made up the circuit, analogous to an electron moving through wires. [“DNA-based computer can run 100 billion different programs,” Karmela Padavic-Callaghan, NewScientist (23 September 2023, no paywall)]
For those not in the know, there are things called FPGAs: Field Programmable Gate Arrays. They permit mimicking CPUs, creating custom solutions at the hardware level, and other gimcrackery. Sadly, I’ve never worked with them, and don’t know much more than that. I believe a roboticist of my acquaintance works with them, but I’ve not discussed it at great length with her.
And programming with DNA seems trippy.
