Over the past few years, a handful of insightful researchers have bridged t
he gap between biological computing theory and actual DNA-based computation
. By using ingenious encoding techniques and clever molecular-biological ma
nipulations, simple versions of computationally complex problems have been
experimentally approached or resolved. However, the technical problems reve
aled during the execution of these scientific set pieces make it unlikely t
hat DNA will ever rival silicon for the solution of any real-world problem.