Scientists Store Data in Synthetic DNA Embedded in a Plastic Bunny (wsj.com) 11
A new method for preserving genetically encoded data into common manufacturing materials is reported. From a report: The future of digital memory may be inside a small plastic bunny that contains 3-D printing instructions for replicating itself stored in artificial DNA, said scientists Monday, who announced a method for mixing genetically encoded data into common manufacturing materials. The scientists sealed the DNA data inside thousands of microscopic glass beads that protected the information as the plastic for the toy was heated and processed. By sequencing a snippet of the toy's DNA-infused plastic, they could extract the instructions and make flawless copies of the figure, they said. They reported the experiment in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
While cumbersome compared with conventional computer hard drives or tapes, the new DNA data-storage technique one day could be used to store digital information in items molded into virtually any shape, the scientists said. It could, for example, be used to make devices that contain their own blueprints or to embed electronic health records in medical implants and prescription drugs, they said. "We wanted to show that you can use this technology to hide information in common objects," said computational genomics researcher Yaniv Erlich, a co-author of the study who is chief science officer at a consumer genetics genealogy company called MyHeritage. The company wasn't involved in the project.
While cumbersome compared with conventional computer hard drives or tapes, the new DNA data-storage technique one day could be used to store digital information in items molded into virtually any shape, the scientists said. It could, for example, be used to make devices that contain their own blueprints or to embed electronic health records in medical implants and prescription drugs, they said. "We wanted to show that you can use this technology to hide information in common objects," said computational genomics researcher Yaniv Erlich, a co-author of the study who is chief science officer at a consumer genetics genealogy company called MyHeritage. The company wasn't involved in the project.
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Well that's just great. (Score:5, Funny)
I can't wait until Ancestry.com starts adding stuffed animals to my family tree. -_-
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Dammit! (Score:2)
They beat me to it, I wanted to sell 3d-printed dolls with an NTFS encoded USB drive containing the print file up their ass.
That a lot of giga hertz (Score:2)
DOH! Worng thread - That a lot of giga hertz (Score:2)
And to read that synthetic DNA? (Score:2)
You'll be able to definitively prove that THAT plastic rabbit did NOT commit the crime, but less definitively that it did. After all, a plastic rabbit cannot die [wikipedia.org].
Reasonable choice of test subject (Score:2)
Bunnies are very good at replicating themselves.
This needs to die. (Score:2)
Re: This needs to die. (Score:2)