This volume presents the proceedings of a conference held at Princeton University in April 1995 as part of the DIMACS Special Year on Mathematical Support for Molecular Biology. The subject of the conference was the new area of DNA based computing. DNA based computing is the study of using DNA strands as individual computers. The concept was initiated by Leonard Adleman's paper in Science in November 1994.

The fledgling field of DNA computers began in 1994 when Leonard Adleman surprised the scientific community by using DNA molecules, protein enzymes, and chemicals to solve an instance of a hard computational problem. This volume presents results from the second annual meeting on DNA computers held at Princeton only one and one-half years after Adleman's discovery. By drawing on the analogy between DNA computing and cutting-edge fields of biology (such as directed evolution), this volume highlights some of the exciting progress in the field and builds a strong foundation for the theory of molecular computation.

This volume presents the proceedings from the third DIMACS workshop on "DNA Based Computers" held at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). The workshop was part of the Special Year on Molecular Biology and the Special Year on DNA Computing. The focus of this workshop was on the multidisciplinary nature of the conference, with emphasis on the interaction between biology and biochemistry on one hand and computer science and mathematics on the other.

This proceedings volume presents the talks from the Fifth Annual Meeting on DNA Based Computers held at MIT. The conference brought together researchers and theorists from many disciplines who shared research results in biomolecular computation. Two styles of DNA computing were explored at the conference: 1) DNA computing based on combinatorial search, where randomly created DNA strands are used to encode potential solutions to a problem, and constraints induced by the problem are used to identify DNA strands that are solution witnesses; and 2) DNA computing based on finite-state machines, where the state of a computation is encoded in DNA, which controls the biochemical steps that advance the DNA-based machine from state to state. Featured articles include discussions on the formula satisfiability problem, self-assembly and nanomachines, simulation and design of molecular systems, and new theoretical approaches.

Discover the science of biocomputing with this comprehensive and forward-looking new resource DNA- and RNA-Based Computing Systems delivers an authoritative overview of DNA- and RNA-based biocomputing systems that touches on cutting-edge advancements in computer science, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and materials science. Accomplished researcher, academic, and author Evgeny Katz offers readers an examination of the intersection of computational, chemical, materials, and engineering aspects of biomolecular information processing. A perfect companion to the recently published Enzyme-Based Computing by the same editor, the book is an authoritative reference for those who hope to better understand DNA- and RNA-based logic gates, multi-component logic networks, combinatorial calculators, and related computational systems that have recently been developed for use in biocomputing devices. DNA- and RNA-Based Computing Systems summarizes the latest research efforts in this rapidly evolving field and points to possible future research foci. Along with an examination of potential applications in biosensing and bioactuation, particularly in the field of biomedicine, the book also includes topics like: A thorough introduction to the fields of DNA and RNA computing, including DNA/enzyme circuits A description of DNA logic gates, switches and circuits, and how to program them An introduction to photonic logic using DNA and RNA The development and applications of DNA computing for use in databases and robotics Perfect for biochemists, biotechnologists, materials scientists, and bioengineers, DNA- and RNA-Based Computing Systems also belongs on the bookshelves of computer technologists and electrical engineers who seek to improve their understanding of biomolecular information processing. Senior undergraduate students and graduate students in biochemistry, materials science, and computer science will also benefit from this book.

The papers in this volume were presented at the 6th International Meeting on DNA Based Computers, organized by the Leiden Center for Natural Computing and held from June 13 to June 17, 2000 at The Lorentz Center, University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands. DNA Computing is a novel and fascinating development at the interface of computer science and molecular biology. It has emerged in recent years, not simply as an exciting technology for information processing, but also as a catalyst for knowledge transfer between information processing, nanotechnology, and biology. This area of research has the potential to change our understanding of the theory and practice of computing. The call for papers and poster presentations sought contributions of original research and technical expositions in all areas of bio-computation. A total of 33 abstracts were submitted of which 16 were accepted for presentation and included in the proceedings. The papers were selected by the program committee based on originality and quality of research and on relevance to the bio-computing eld. Invited talks were given by Masami Hagiya (Tokyo University), Laura La- weber (Princeton University), John Reif (Duke University), Thomas Schmidt (Leiden University), and Lloyd M. Smith (University of Wisconsin). Invited - pers based on the talks by Hagiya and Reif are included in this volume, along with the contributed papers. Additional tutorials were held on the rst and last days of the conference.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on DNA Based Computers, DNA9, held in Madison, Wisconsin, USA in June 2003. The 22 revised full papers presented were carefully selected during two rounds of reviewing and improvement from initially 60 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on new experiments and tools, theory, computer simulation and sequence design, self-assembly and autonomous molecular computation, experimental solutions, and new computing models.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on DNA-Based Computers, DNA7, held in Tampa, Florida, USA, in June 2001. The 26 revised full papers presented together with 9 poster papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 44 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on experimental tools, theoretical tools, probabilistic computational models, computer simulation and sequence design, algorithms, experimental solutions, nano-tech devices, biomimetic tools, new computing models, and splicing systems and membranes.