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A Maynooth DNA computer ran programs in a drop of water

Live Science said Maynooth's Scaffolded DNA Computer, published in Nature on 16 September, ran ten programs including 100-bit calculations in a drop of water. Tom's Hardware, also writing on 19 September 2026, said those programs ran in salt water without a power cable.

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A clear water droplet on a glass slide beneath a microscope, with subtle molecular strands inside, on a bright wet-lab bench.

Ten programs, including 100-bit work

Live Science reported on 19 September 2026 that the Maynooth Scaffolded DNA Computer ran ten programs, including 100-bit calculations. Tom's Hardware the same day used the same ten-program and 100-bit pair. Both rooms date the Nature paper to 16 September. The news pages are 19 September write-ups of that paper, not a second experiment. Those pages stop at the figures they printed. The same study appeared in this morning's edition; what is new here is Tom's Hardware's independent account from the same day.[1], [2]

A drop, then salt water

Live Science placed the calculations in a drop of water. Tom's Hardware placed the same molecular programs in salt water and said they ran without a power cable. The two solvents are compatible: a drop can be saline. Neither page publishes a watt-hour figure, because there is no cable to meter. Those pages stop at the figures they printed.[1], [2]

Nature on 16 September

Both newsrooms point at a Nature paper dated 16 September. The 19 September pages do not add a new run. A reader who wants methods has to open that paper; these cards only carry what the two newsrooms stated about program count, bit width and the wet setting. Those pages stop at the figures they printed.[1], [2]

References

  1. News sourceLive ScienceA DNA computer ran calculations in a drop of water↩1↩2↩3
  2. News sourceTom's HardwareA Maynooth DNA computer ran 100-bit programs without a power cable↩1↩2↩3
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