Universiteit Leiden LIACS
Pascal Lectures - T. Head

Natural Computing Day Ongoing Workshop on DNA Computing

Lorentz Visitor Center Department of Computer Science Theoretical Computer Science

DNA Computing - Design of Experiments

A series of four talks will be given that introduce some of the major concepts behind the exciting new laboratory investigations of the potential of biotechnology as a means of computation. No previous experience with biochemistry, molecular biology, or the literature on dna computing is needed. These talks are entirely self contained. They should also ease the understanding of the more advanced reports of research that will be given by visiting biomolecular computing researchers during the summer.

The first talk in the series will be a conceptual introduction to aspects of DNA chemistry that are pertinent to current developments in DNA computing. This will be done using diagrammatic representations of the most fundamental construction and separation methods now being used to plan and carry out wet lab computations. The discussion will include: annealing, melting, ligation, cutting with nucleases, the use of attached biotin, the use of gels, and the polymerase chain reaction. Three elementary experiments will be discussed with the results displayed with gel separation photos.

Further talks will be devoted to:

1. L. Adleman's 1994 solution of aninstance of the Hamiltonian path problem (HPP);
2. the 1997 solution of an instance of the maximum clique problem (MCP) by Q. Ouyang, P.D. Kaplan, S. Liu & A. Libchaber; and
3. a proposed experimental biocomputer capable of being programmed to solve bounded instances of both HPPs and MCPs.

Huygens Laboratories, room 201, 14.00-16.00.

18.5.1998 (HJH)