Boffins build neural networks fashioned out of DNA molecules

Scientists have built neural networks from DNA molecules that can recognise handwritten numbers, a common task in deep learning, according to a paper published in Nature on Wednesday. Now, scientists are testing wackier models on the MNIST database of training images, like one network modeled on moth brains or made out of DNA. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have strung together nucleotides to create molecular logic gates. "Humans each have over 80 billion neurons in the brain, with which they make highly sophisticated decisions. Smaller animals such as roundworms can make simpler decisions using just a few hundred neurons," said Lulu Qian, co-author of the paper and an assistant professor in bioengineering at Caltech.