Incorporating artificial DNA into electronics is changing the methodology of neural computing and is a new way to address the increasing energy costs associated with current artificial intelligence.
Combining molecularly engineered DNA sequences with 2D perovskite semiconducting materials allows researchers to create “memristors,” or memory resistors, based on the brain’s ability to create new memories through synaptic plasticity. DNA provides a very high data density of 215 petabytes of stored information per gram; So devices made using DNA hybridization and made using very low voltages, less than 0.1 volts, have the processing power and memory of the same device.
Using both process and memory on the same machine achieves a significant (i.e. 100x) reduction in power usage, creating a robust and scalable model for the next generation of energy-efficient, high-capacity supercomputers.
DNA powers the next generation of supercomputers
Standard computing is approaching the “thermodynamic limit,” and synthetic DNA will be the answer to that as a programmable nanomaterial. According to a journal published in the Wiley Online Library, when silver ions are doped onto synthetic DNA and in conjunction with perovskites, the resulting synthetic DNA (i.e.
DNA) creates a stable conductive path for high-density storage. These devices are memories that can hold memory (data) just as neurons do in biological systems, without requiring continuous power.
Why DNA is the key to sustainable computing
As artificial intelligence continues to expand, the power required to transfer data on standard chips will become extremely large. Studies funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) show that biological systems have an advantage over contemporary chip architectures when it comes to parallel processing.
Computing using DNA-enhanced processing (i.e., DNA-based computers) will enable multiple input processing with 90 percent less power than traditional non-volatile memory.
The advantage of the enormous density of DNA
One of the biggest advantages of DNA is its spatial efficiency. As reported in National Institutes of Health studies, DNA has the ability to store data at a density millions of times greater than silicon. This will have huge implications for future supercomputers as the physical footprint of data centers decreases and, at the same time, the reliability of long (cold) data storage increases through the chemical stabilization of synthetic DNA strands.
Critical electronics are designed to withstand extreme temperatures of 121°C
Bioelectronics faces performance limits due to fragility; However, research has recently announced that a composite of synthetic DNA and perovskite can withstand extreme temperatures of up to 121°C (250°F), thus enabling the design of DNA-powered electronics that will withstand the thermal demands of high-performance supercomputers, allowing for its potential to provide an alternative to the current semiconductor industry.
