Boffins cram binary data into living cells' DNA

[CHiLL]

In a move that could have appeared in a Michael Crichton novel, Stanford University brainiacs have written and read a binary digit encoded in a DNA cell sequence which survives cell reproduction - a non-volatile genetic bit.

DNA, Deoxyribonucleic acid, contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of living organisms. Segments of DNA carry specific information and are called genes.

In the Stanford university research, data-loaded cells reproduced 90 and 200 times, retaining a bit of readable information. The research has been published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the lead scientist is Jerome Bonnet, a post-doc at the university.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/23/genetic_bits/

Science. It's bloody crazy!

[Nathan]

I've been keeping up with this for years, I think they are headed towards a hard drive that is organic that can never crash for one example.

[__Darknite]

Biological Data storage has certainly been proposed as a solution for long time archive. I was invited to a research seminar on this topic last year. Very interesting stuff indeed.

[ljepilo]

This is just another proof of how much science has advanced over the last 10 years. I can't imagine how its gonna look like in another 10. It freaks me out sometimes.