For the first time, scientists have encoded a movie into the DNA of living bacteria - ScienceAlert: To test the idea, the team converted each shaded pixel of the horse animation into a DNA code – designated by a particular configuration of the DNA nucleobases adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine.
The researchers then used the gene editing technology CRISPR to embed this sequence of information into the genome of the bacteria E. coli, adding a new frame of animation each day.
The team then waited a week, leaving the bacteria in the lab to divide and multiply, passing the movie on to successive generations as it went – like some kind of biological filesharing process.
Later, after sequencing extracted DNA regions taken from a sample of the bacteria, the team was able to play back the movie with 90 percent of the information still intact – a successful test suggesting that living cells can record and retain information in sequence, which can then be extracted and reviewed if needed.
The researchers then used the gene editing technology CRISPR to embed this sequence of information into the genome of the bacteria E. coli, adding a new frame of animation each day.
The team then waited a week, leaving the bacteria in the lab to divide and multiply, passing the movie on to successive generations as it went – like some kind of biological filesharing process.
Later, after sequencing extracted DNA regions taken from a sample of the bacteria, the team was able to play back the movie with 90 percent of the information still intact – a successful test suggesting that living cells can record and retain information in sequence, which can then be extracted and reviewed if needed.