Japanese scientists claim to have created the world's first artificial DNA, a development that brings DNA computing much closer.

In a paper in the 23 July issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society Masahiko Inouye and colleagues at the University of Toyama claim to have successfully built a stable artificial DNA strand.

"The unique chemistry of these structures and their high stability offer unprecedented possibilities for developing new biotech materials and applications eventually including the development of thinking robots to replace humans," the researchers said.