Researchers Say It's Possible to Build a Self-Replicating DNA Supercomputer

All existing computers, from the building-sized Sunway Taihulight supercomputer in China to the device you are using to read this article, are based on the principles of a Turing machine. Named for Manchester's own Dr. Alan Turing, Turing machines are theoretical devices that run on a set of strict instructions. A typical deterministic Turing machine (DTM) might have a direction: "If my state is A, then perform task 1." The DNA computer would however be a non-deterministic universal Turing Machine (NUTM). An NUTM is a Turing machine that can solve multiple tasks at once that a DTM can only solve one at a time.