A massively-parallel genetic algorithm for RNA secondary structure prediction

The authors present a new method for predicting RNA secondary structure based on a genetic algorithm. The algorithm is designed to run on a massively parallel SIMD computer. Statistical analysis shows that the program performs well when compared to a dynamic programming algorithm used to solve the same problem. The program has also pointed out a long-standing simplification in the implementation of the original dynamic programming algorithm that sometimes causes it not to find the optimal secondary structure.