Title: “Life at the interface of computer science and chemistry”

Abstract: “At its deepest level, life relies on information-based
chemistry: DNA encodes programs for orchestrating chemical processes
to accomplish tasks essential to living organisms, such as
constructing molecular structures and making decisions based on
molecular sensors.  To better understand life, and more practically to
develop programmable molecular technologies, a rich theory and
practice for information-based chemistry is needed.  Building on DNA
nanotechnology and cell-free synthetic biology, we have been exploring
how designable molecular mechanisms such as folding, self-assembly,
catalysis, and motors can serve as the basis for molecular
“programming languages”.  To do so requires integrating nucleic acid
biophysics, computational simulations, abstract models of molecular
computation, computational complexity theory, the development of
compilers that transform high-level specifications into synthesizable
nucleic acid sequences, and laboratory demonstrations of DNA systems
performing sophisticated tasks at the molecular level.  While falling
far short of the sophistication of life and still unproven for
technological applications, these investigations are helping to
develop a new way of thinking about information-based chemical
systems.”