We all learn - in schools, factories, bars and streets. We gather, store, process and transmit information in society. Molecular systems involved in our senses and within our brains allow all this to happen and molecular systems allow living things of all kinds to handle information for the purpose of survival and growth. Nevertheless, the vital link between molecules and computation was not generally appreciated until a few decades ago. Semiconductor-based information technology had penetrated society at many levels and the interest in maintaining momentum of this revolution led to the consideration of molecules, among others, as possible information handlers. Such an overlap between the recent engineering-oriented revolution with the ancient biology-oriented success story is very interesting and George Boole's times in Ireland 150 years ago produced the logic ideas that provide the foundations of computation to this day. Molecular logic and computation is a field which is 17 years young, has had a healthy growth and is a story which deserves to be told. It is a growing branch of chemical science which highlights the connection between information technology (engineering and biological) and chemistry. The author and co-workers of this publication launched molecular logic as an experimental field by publishing the first research in the primary literature in 1993 and are uniquely placed to recount how the field has grown. There is no other book at present on molecular logic and computation and is more comprehensive than that found in any review available so far. It shows how designed molecules can play the role of information processors in a wide variety of situations, once we are educated by those information processors already available in the semiconductor electronics business and in the natural world. Following a short history of the field, is a set of primers on logic, computing and photochemical principles which are an essential basis in this field. The book covers all of the Boolean logic gates driven by a single input and all of those with double inputs and the wide range of designs which lie beneath these gates is a particular highlight. The easily-available diversity of chemical systems is another highlight, especially when it leads to reconfigurable logic gates. Further on in the book, molecular arithmetic and other more complex logic operations, including those with a memory and those which stray beyond binary are covered. Then follows molecular computing approaches which lie outside the Boolean blueprint, including quantum phenomena and finally, the book catalogues the useful real-life applications of molecular logic and computation which are already available. This book is an authoritative, state of the art, reference and a 'one-stop-shop' concerning the current state of the field for scientists, academics and postgraduate students.

This book contains 35 review articles on nanoscience and nanotechnology that were first published in Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Materials and a number of other Nature journals. The articles are all written by leading authorities in their field and cover a wide range of areas in nanoscience and technology, from basic research (such as single-molecule devices and new materials) through to applications (in, for example, nanomedicine and data storage).

Discover the science of biocomputing with this comprehensive and forward-looking new resource DNA- and RNA-Based Computing Systems delivers an authoritative overview of DNA- and RNA-based biocomputing systems that touches on cutting-edge advancements in computer science, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and materials science. Accomplished researcher, academic, and author Evgeny Katz offers readers an examination of the intersection of computational, chemical, materials, and engineering aspects of biomolecular information processing. A perfect companion to the recently published Enzyme-Based Computing by the same editor, the book is an authoritative reference for those who hope to better understand DNA- and RNA-based logic gates, multi-component logic networks, combinatorial calculators, and related computational systems that have recently been developed for use in biocomputing devices. DNA- and RNA-Based Computing Systems summarizes the latest research efforts in this rapidly evolving field and points to possible future research foci. Along with an examination of potential applications in biosensing and bioactuation, particularly in the field of biomedicine, the book also includes topics like: A thorough introduction to the fields of DNA and RNA computing, including DNA/enzyme circuits A description of DNA logic gates, switches and circuits, and how to program them An introduction to photonic logic using DNA and RNA The development and applications of DNA computing for use in databases and robotics Perfect for biochemists, biotechnologists, materials scientists, and bioengineers, DNA- and RNA-Based Computing Systems also belongs on the bookshelves of computer technologists and electrical engineers who seek to improve their understanding of biomolecular information processing. Senior undergraduate students and graduate students in biochemistry, materials science, and computer science will also benefit from this book.

This systematic and comprehensive overview of enzyme-based biocomputing is an excellent resource for scientists and engineers working on the design, study and applications of enzyme-logic systems.

Nowadays, all scientists recognize that fluorescent probes play important roles in wide research areas, from chemistry to biology. By combining this fact with specific functional benefits from synthetic polymers, fluorescent polymeric probes are occasionally superior to small organic and inorganic fluorescent (or luminescent) probes in terms of sensitivity, robustness, and multiple functionality. The targets of fluorescent polymeric probes have extended from chemical species to physical parameter. This special issue is a platform for researches to develop a novel fluorescent polymeric probe and to establish a new analytical method using a conventional fluorescent polymeric probe. Related researches, e.g., fluorometric investigation of functional polymers, are also included.

“The story is told by THE inventor-pioneer-master in the field and is accompanied by amazing illustrations… [it] will become an absolute reference and a best seller in chemistry!” Alberto Credi “… the great opus on the mechanical bond. A most impressive undertaking!” Jean-Marie Lehn Congratulations to co-author J. Fraser Stoddart, a 2016 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. In molecules, the mechanical bond is not shared between atoms—it is a bond that arises when molecular entities become entangled in space. Just as supermolecules are held together by supramolecular interactions, mechanomolecules, such as catenanes and rotaxanes, are maintained by mechanical bonds. This emergent bond endows mechanomolecules with a whole suite of novel properties relating to both form and function. They hold unlimited promise for countless applications, ranging from their presence in molecular devices and electronics to their involvement in remarkably advanced functional materials. The Nature of the Mechanical Bond is a comprehensive review of much of the contemporary literature on the mechanical bond, accessible to newcomers and veterans alike. Topics covered include: Supramolecular, covalent, and statistical approaches to the formation of entanglements that underpin mechanical bonds in molecules and macromolecules Kinetically and thermodynamically controlled strategies for synthesizing mechanomolecules Chemical topology, molecular architectures, polymers, crystals, and materials with mechanical bonds The stereochemistry of the mechanical bond (mechanostereochemistry), including the novel types of dynamic and static isomerism and chirality that emerge in mechanomolecules Artificial molecular switches and machines based on the large-amplitude translational and rotational motions expressed by suitably designed catenanes and rotaxanes. This contemporary and highly interdisciplinary field is summarized in a visually appealing, image-driven format, with more than 800 illustrations covering both fundamental and applied research. The Nature of the Mechanical Bond is a must-read for everyone, from students to experienced researchers, with an interest in chemistry’s latest and most non-canonical bond. Read the Preface

This text will provide the most recent knowledge and advances in the area of molecular computing and bioinformatics. Molecular computing and bioinformatics have a close relationship, paying attention to the same object but working towards different orientations. The articles will range from topics such as DNA computing and membrane computing to specific biomedical applications, including drug R&D and disease analysis.

Frontiers in Neuroscience, Neuromorphic Engineering is delighted to present the ‘Reviews and Perspectives in’ series of article collections. Reviews and Perspectives in Neuromorphic Engineering: Novel Neuromorphic Computing Approaches Research Topic will publish high-quality scholarly reviews and perspective papers on key topics in Neuromorphic Computing. It aims to highlight recent advances in neuromorphic computing in software, hardware, and wetware whilst emphasizing important directions, novel and unconventional approaches, and new possibilities for future inquiries. The research presented will promote discussion in the neuromorphic computing community that will translate to best practice applications. We welcome Review, Mini Review, Opinion, General Commentary, and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to: • Innovative architectures and models in neuromorphic computing • Oscillatory Neural Networks computing • Reservoir computing • Chemical computing • Protein computing • Synthetic cells • Analog computing • Bayesian inference and fuzzy logic • Linking neuromorphic and quantum computing • Novel materials for neuromorphic computing • Unconventional neuromorphic approaches • Photonic computing • 3D integrated Neural Network • Physical Chemistry of materials and systems for neuromorphic computing.

The unconventional computing is a niche for interdisciplinary science, cross-bred of computer science, physics, mathematics, chemistry, electronic engineering, biology, material science and nanotechnology. The aims of this book are to uncover and exploit principles and mechanisms of information processing in and functional properties of physical, chemical and living systems to develop efficient algorithms, design optimal architectures and manufacture working prototypes of future and emergent computing devices. This second volume presents experimental laboratory prototypes and applied computing implementations. Emergent molecular computing is presented by enzymatic logical gates and circuits, and DNA nano-devices. Reaction-diffusion chemical computing is exemplified by logical circuits in Belousov-Zhabotinsky medium and geometrical computation in precipitating chemical reactions. Logical circuits realised with solitons and impulses in polymer chains show advances in collision-based computing. Photo-chemical and memristive devices give us a glimpse on hot topics of a novel hardware. Practical computing is represented by algorithms of collective and immune-computing and nature-inspired optimisation. Living computing devices are implemented in real and simulated cells, regenerating organisms, plant roots and slime mould. The book is the encyclopedia, the first ever complete authoritative account, of the theoretical and experimental findings in the unconventional computing written by the world leaders in the field. All chapters are self-contains, no specialist background is required to appreciate ideas, findings, constructs and designs presented. This treatise in unconventional computing appeals to readers from all walks of life, from high-school pupils to university professors, from mathematicians, computers scientists and engineers to chemists and biologists.

This book is concerned with computing in materio: that is, unconventional computing performed by directly harnessing the physical properties of materials. It offers an overview of the field, covering four main areas of interest: theory, practice, applications and implications. Each chapter synthesizes current understanding by deliberately bringing together researchers across a collection of related research projects. The book is useful for graduate students, researchers in the field, and the general scientific reader who is interested in inherently interdisciplinary research at the intersections of computer science, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering and mathematics.