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Home | Background Information | Current Project: Solving the Hamiltonian Path Problem in vivo | Mathematical Modeling | Gene Splitting | Results | Traveling Salesperson Problem | Software | Resources and Citations


The Team

The Team The Faculty School Logos Group Photo
Davidson

Oyinade Adefuye
Will DeLoache
Jim Dickson
Andrew Martens
Amber Shoecraft
Mike Waters

A. Malcolm Campbell
Karmella Haynes
Laurie Heyer

Missouri Western

Jordan Baumgardner
Tom Crowley
Lane H. Heard
Nickolaus Morton
Michelle Ritter
Jessica Treece
Matthew Unzicker
Amanda Valencia

Todd Eckdahl
Jeff Poet


Our Successful Project

In Depth Overview

Background Information


Current Project: Solving the Hamiltonian Path Problem in vivo


Mathematical Modeling


Gene Splitting


Results


Traveling Salesperson Problem


Software


Resources and Citations


Hamiltonian Path Problem

As a part of iGEM2006, a combined team from Davidson College and Missouri Western State University reconstituted a hin/hix DNA recombination mechanism which exists in nature in Salmonella as standard biobricks for use in E. coli. The purpose of the 2006 combined team was to provide a proof of concept for a bacterial computer in using this mechanism to solve a variation of The Pancake Problem from Computer Science. This task utilized both biology and mathematics students and faculty from the two institutions.

For 2007, we successfully continued our collaboration and our efforts to manipulate E. coli into mathematics problem solvers as we refine our efforts with the hin/hix mechanism to explore another mathematics problem, the Hamiltonian Path Problem. This problem was the subject of a groundbreaking paper by Adleman in 1994 (see citations) where a unique Hamiltonian path was found in vitro for a particular directed graph on seven nodes. We were able to use bacterial computers to solve the Hamiltonian path problem in vivo. (Why use a bacterial computer?)


The Adleman graph.
For the graph used in Adleman's paper (shown above), the Hamiltonian Path Problem would ask: can you find a path along the directed edges that travels from node 1 (green) to node 5 (red) and visits each node on the graph exactly once?

Click here for the solution.


A Human Representation of the Adleman Graph. (mouse over to see the full effect)

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