Quantum database search can do without sorting

Sorting is a fundamental computational process that facilitates subsequent searching of a database. It can be thought of as factorization of the search process. The location of a desired item in a sorted database can be found by classical queries that inspect one letter of the label at a time. For an unsorted database, no such classical quick search algorithm is available. If the database permits quantum queries, however, then mere digitization is sufficient for efficient search. Sorting becomes redundant with the quantum superposition of states. A quantum algorithm is written down that locates the desired item in an unsorted database a factor of two faster than the best classical algorithm can in a sorted database. This algorithm has close resemblance to the assembly process in DNA replication.