IDAHO: Researchers advance DNA as a memory material
The color of a person’s eyes, the thickness of a potato’s skin, and the shape of a flower: what do these seemingly disparate elements have in common? They are all shaped by DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) encodes and carries the genetic instructions that shape life. But what if it could encode more than genetic information, such as digital archival data?
It might sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but in a novel study published in Nature Communications, members of Boise State’s Nucleic Acid Memory Institute revealed that the future of digital memory storage may be found in utilizing the programmable qualities of chemically synthesized DNA.
Led by Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering professor Hughes, and research scientist George Dickinson, the team was able to encode digital information into DNA, read it back using an optical microscope, and perform error correction on the data to ensure the integrity of the information. Additionally, this technique did not require sequencing technology, which historically has been necessary to read DNA information. The team’s research was published on April 22 in Nature Communications and can be viewed at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22277-y
“We are simply taking advantage of the information density and programmability of DNA as a memory material,” explained Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering professor Will Hughes.