1. Molecular Computing Leonard Adleman Laboratory for Molecular Science
University of Southern California

2. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Office of Naval Research
Dr. Nickolas Chelyapov
Cliff Johnson
Areio Soltani
Rolfe Schmidt
Billal Shaw
Dustin Reischus
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Office of Naval Research
JPL/NASA

3. This is a picture of a tool chest from the 19th century
This is a picture of a tool chest from the 19th century. It is very beautiful – I got it from an online exhibit at the smithsonian. Presumably in the hands of skilled and creative craftsmen, such toolchests were used to create exciting new things.
Today, I want to talk about a toolchest for the 21st century. And, I’m confident, it toowill be used to create exciting new things

4. Let’s look at couple of these molecules
The toolchest I speak of is the cell and the tools within it are the molecules themselves.
Some of these molecules act as digital memories, some copy information, some act as motors, some as structural elements, some store energy, some transport materials.
They are all very small, very precise (they seldom fail), very specific (they don’t do things they shouldn’t), very cheap, and very energy efficient (they all work at the very edge of what is thermodynamically possibile).
Let’s look at couple of these molecules

5. -Me (demonstration lifting small white cube of DNA)
-Slide
-Me (demonstration lifting small white cube of DNA)
-Close up of DNA cube UNDER CLOSE-UP CAM
DNA

6. Extreme Information Density
-Slide
-Me (demonstration lifting small white cube of DNA)
-Close up of DNA cube UNDER CLOSE-UP CAM
DNA

7. Extreme Information Density
-Slide
DNA
1 gram
4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bits

8. -Me (demonstration lifting tube in hand) -Close-up of tube in hand
-Slide
-Me (demonstration lifting tube in hand)
-Close-up of tube in hand
Polymerase

9. -Me (demonstration lifting tube in hand) -Close-up of tube in hand
-Slide
-Me (demonstration lifting tube in hand)
-Close-up of tube in hand
Polymerase

10. Extremely Small -Me -Slide -Me (demonstration lifting tube in hand)
-Close-up of tube in hand
Polymerase

11. Extremely Small -Slide 1ml 5,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules
Polymerase
1ml
5,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules

12. -Me
-Slide
-Me (demonstration lifting metal weight in hand – no close up of weight)
Ligase

13. Extremely Energy Efficient
-Slide
-Me (demonstration lifting metal weight in hand – no close up of weight)
Ligase

14. Extremely Energy Efficient
-Slide
Ligase
1 Joule
20,000,000,000,000,000,000operations

15. Let’s look at couple of these molecules
The toolchest I speak of is the cell and the tools within it are the molecules themselves.
Some of these molecules act as digital memories, some copy information, some act as motors, some as structural elements, some store energy, some transport materials.
They are all very small, very precise (they seldom fail), very specific (they don’t do things they shouldn’t), very cheap, and very energy efficient (they all work at the very edge of what is thermodynamically possibile).
Let’s look at couple of these molecules

16. ?
-Me
-Slide

17. The Theory of Computation
-Me
-Slide

18. Computing is Easy -Me -Slide 1. A METHOD FOR STORING INFORMATION
2. A FEW SIMPLE OPERATIONS FOR ACTING ON INFORMATION

19. Computing is Easy -Slide 1. A METHOD FOR STORING INFORMATION
2. A FEW SIMPLE OPERATIONS FOR ACTING ON INFORMATION

20. Computing is Easy -Slide 1. A METHOD FOR STORING INFORMATION
2. A FEW SIMPLE OPERATIONS FOR ACTING ON INFORMATION

21. DNA
COMPUTER
1994 Experiment
-Me
-Slide

22. -Me
-Slide

23. Satisfiability
John Y N
Ted
Sue
(B or –G) and (-R or G) and (B or G)

24. ATCCTA
TCCTAT
CTCTCT
ACCTCT
TTAACC
CAAATT

25. Mix and Split Synthesis
ATCCTA
TCCTAT
CTCTCT
ACCTCT
TTAACC
CAAATT

26. ATCCTA
ACCTCT
TCCTAT
TTAACC
CAAATT
CTCTCT
Library Strands

27. Watson-Crick Complementary Probes
ATCCTA
TCCTAT
CTCTCT
ACCTCT
TTAACC
CAAATT
TAGGAT
AATTGG
TGGAGA
GTTTAA
GAGAGA
AGGATA

29. CAPTURE LAYER
(-R or G)

30. CAPTURE LAYER
(-R or G) - +

31. CAPTURE LAYER
(-R or G) - +

32. CAPTURE LAYER
(-R or G) - +

33. CAPTURE LAYER
(-R or G) - +
HOT

34. John
(B or –G)
Ted
(-R or G)
Sue
(B or G)

35. (X_1 or -X_2 or -X_3) and (X_2 or -X_3 or -X_4) and (X_3 or -X_4 or -X_5) and (X_4 or -X_5 or -X_6) and (X_5 or -X_6 or -X_7) and (X_6 or -X_7 or -X_8) and (X_7 or -X_8 or -X_9) and (X_8 or -X_9 or -X_10) and (X_9 or -X_10 or -X_11) and (X_10 or -X_11 or -X_12) and (X_11 or -X_12 or -X_13) and (X_14 or -X_15 or -X_16) and (X_15 or -X_16 or -X_17) and (X_16 or -X_17 or -X_18) and (X_17 or -X_18 or -X_19) and (X_18 or -X_19 or -X_20) and (X_1 or X_2 or X_3) and (X_1 or X_2 or -X_3) and (-X_1 or X_2 or X_3) and (-X_1 or X_2 or -X_3) and (X_1 or -X_2 or X_3)
Science, Vol. 296, Issue 5567, ,
April 19, 2002

36. 1,048,576 distinct library strands
The Library
300 nucs
15 nucs per variable
1,048,576 distinct library strands

37. 1 20

38. 1 17
Var 1 T F
Var 17

41. 1 17
Var 1 T F
Var 17

43. “It’s not that the bear dances so well, it’s that he dances at all”

44. -Me
-Slide
-END TALK