MOLECULAR CYBERNETICS: THE NEXT STEP?

Recent developments in genetic engineering have dramatic implications for cybernetics. The possibility of rearranging the instructions on a DNA molecule to any given specification is now accepted as inevitable by biologists. In this paper, we demonstrate that this opens up the possibility of using DNA and the genetic code for storing information of any kind whatsoever including computer programs. The self-replicating nature of the double helix, its remarkable stability and its infinitessimal size offer considerable scope for the use of this molecule as a generalized means of storing information over and above its biological function in evolution.