DNA inspires molecular storage

From hard disks to squiggly strands

Computing took a page from the book of life this week when scientists designed storage device made out of synthetic strands of DNA.

A team at Reading University synthesised a molecule using the principles by which DNA works: long chemical strands in which
information could be encoded at densities "several million times higher than current systems".

The scientists aimed to develop "wholly synthetic information technology, working at the molecular level," said their team leader,
Howard Colquhoun, Professor of Materials Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry.

A statement by the University said the team had used other molecules shaped like tweezers to cling on to the synthetic DNA strands and read their sequence. The strand was a polymer, like a plastic. Their next
step was to learn how to write their own messages on it.

The team published their findings in a paper, here.