Einstein + bacteria DNA = organic computer breakthrough | Science | Guardian Unlimited

(((You know what's next? Spam in computerized bacterial DNA.)))

Link: Einstein + bacteria DNA = organic computer breakthrough | Science | Guardian Unlimited.

Scientists have written a message into the DNA of a living organism, a breakthrough they believe could lead to a new era of organic computers capable of healing themselves if damaged. The researchers encoded Einstein's most famous equation and most prolific year into the genome of one the hardiest strains of bacteria in the world, Bacillus subtilis.

The characters "E=MC^2 1905!" were then read from the bacterium at a later date by analysing its genetic sequence.In the proof-of-principle experiment, the research team showed they could write a message into the bacterium's DNA and retrieve it. The process is slow, taking days to complete. But because the organisms are so hardy and are able to pass on data to future generations, they may still find a role in storing large amounts of information that do not need to be accessed quickly.

Yoshiaki Ohashi, who led the study at Keio University in Tokyo, said that bacteria have the potential to store vast quantities of data and are more resistant to the kinds of damage that could wipe modern hard drives. "Information storage using DNA is robust for more than one hundred million years," he said.

(((Okay, publicity stunt, but a SWELL publicity stunt.)))