Since the dawn of the computer age, researchers have wrestled with two persistent challenges: how to store ever-increasing reams of data and how to protect that information from unintended access. Now, researchers with Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and their colleagues offer a surprising answer. In a pair of new studies, they show how DNA, the molecule of life, can be harnessed to faithfully store enormous volumes of data and provide powerful encryption.
The findings, appearing in the journals Advanced Functional Materials and Nature Communications respectively, provide a nature-inspired alternative to silicon-based storage and encryption solutions. They could help reshape the design of future microelectronic and molecular information systems for a broad range of applications.
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