This will be bad news for those people who try to save the world by beating super intelligent computers by playing for a draw in the game.

According to the New Scientist, MAYA-II, developed by researchers at Columbia University and the University of New Mexico in the US, uses DNA logic gates to do its calculations.

Each logic gate is made up of a strand of DNA that binds to another specific input sequence and makes it work as an enzyme. This enzyme works on another DNA sequence to create an output.

Although it might be the first stage for bio-computers, the beast is far too slow to do anything useful yet. Playing a game can take anywhere between two and 20 minutes and a second machine is required to translate the fluorescent signals generated each time into a move in the game.

Of course the technology could get better. It is still faster than the Commodore Pet we used in school when I was a lad.

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