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Stanford Bioengineers Create Rewritable Digital Data Storage In DNA

Posted by timothy on from the prior-art dept.

An anonymous reader writes "You don't hear too much about biological computing but in research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists reveal they have devised the genetic equivalent of a binary digit (full article, freely available) — a 'bit' in data parlance. 'It took us three years and 750 tries to make it work, but we finally did it,' according to Jerome Bonnet, of research which describes, a method for repeatedly encoding, storing and erasing digital data within the DNA of living cells."

3 of 56 comments (clear)

  1. No more thumb drives to lose! by constpointertoconst · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sweet. This means I no longer have to worry about losing my thumb drive - I'd just plug myself in!

    Now, where should I put the pr0n folder...

    1. Re:No more thumb drives to lose! by mcgrew · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I was thinking of the same episode. It's weird how we've surpassed almost all of the science fiction of my youth, let alone that written before I was born. In 1966 everything in Star Trek was pure fantasy -- doors that opened all by themselves, space shuttles, talking voice-activated computers with flat screens, communicators, McCoy's sick bay (you kids can't imagine how primitive medicine was in 1966), Uhura's bluetooth earpiece... all fantasy that nobody ever expected to actually see in their lifetimes. Yet the only things from STOS we don't have today is matter replicators and warp drives.

      I live in the science fiction future of my youth!

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
  2. 2fer on viruses by CoderFool · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This digital data storage could get both technological and biological viruses! I wonder what the crossover will be like... You thought bird flu jumping to pigs then humans was bad....