In 1961, Crick, Barnett, Brenner, and Watts-Tobin (Crick et al., 1961) designed an elegant experimental strategy to determine the nature of the genetic code. Remarkably, they reached the correct conclusion despite the absence of technology to analyze and compare DNA and protein sequences.

Yuelong Shu1, John McCauley2 1. WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Influenza, Chinese National Influenza Center, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China 2. WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, Crick Worldwide Influenza Centre, the Francis Crick Institute, Londo...

one-way quantum finite automata are reversible in nature, which greatly reduces its accepting property. In fact, the set of languages accepted by one-way quantum finite automata is a proper subset of regular languages. In this paper, we replace the tape head of one-way quantum finite automata with DNA double strand and name the model Watson-Crick quantum finite automata. The noninjective comple...

Quickly I narrowed down my interests to two main areas: the borderline between the living and the nonliving, and the workings of the brain. Further introspection showed me that what these two subjects had in common was that they touched on problems which, in many circles, seemed beyond the power of science to explain. He was fortunate to get a studentship in Max Perutz's group in the Cavendish ...

This paper surveys some known results in Watson-Crick automata theory. In particular, we concentrate on the computational power, complexity measures, decidability problems, and systems of Watson-Crick automata working together on the same input. This selection of topics is not exhaustive, reflecting the research interests of the authors. A series of open problems and questions is also included.

The cellular functions of most RNA molecules involve protein binding, and non-Watson-Crick base pairs are hallmark sites for interactions with proteins. The determination of three-dimensional structures of RNA-peptide and RNA-protein complexes reveals the molecular basis of non-Watson-Crick base-pair recognition.