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natural computing dna quantum bits and the future of smart machines
computers built from dna bacteria or foam . robots that fix themselves on mars . bridges that report when they are aging . this is the bizarre and fascinating world of natural computing . computer scientist and scientific american s puzzling adventures columnist dennis shasha here teams up with journalist cathy lazere to explore the outer reaches of computing . drawing on interviews with fifteen leading scientists the authors present an unexpected vision the future of computing is a synthesis with nature . that vision will change not only computer science but also fields as disparate as finance engineering and medicine . space engineers are at work designing machines that adapt to extreme weather and radiation . wetware processing built on dna or bacterial cells races closer to reality . one scientist s extended analog computer measures answers instead of calculating them using ones and zeros . in lively readable prose shasha and lazere take readers on a tour of the future of smart machines .