For the first time, a primitive movie has
been encoded in - and then played back from
- DNA in living cells.
The research team shows in foundational proof-of-principle experiments that the CRISPR system is able
to encode information as complex as a digitized
image of a human hand, reminiscent of some
of the first paintings drawn on cave walls
by early humans, and a sequence of one of
the first motion pictures made ever, that
of a galloping horse, in living cells.
When a virus infects a bacterium, CRISPR cuts
out part of the foreign DNA and stores it
in the bacteria's own genome.
The bacterium then uses the stored DNA to
recognize the virus and defend against future
attacks.
The researchers translated five frames from
the race horse in motion photo sequence into
DNA.
Over the course of five days, they sequentially
treated bacteria with a frame of translated
DNA.
Afterwards, they were able to reconstruct
the movie with 90 percent accuracy by sequencing
the bacterial DNA.
Although this technology could be used in
a variety of ways, the researchers ultimately
hope to use it to study the brain.
Scientists say it is a major step toward a
"molecular recorder" that may someday make
it possible to get read-outs, for example,
of the changing internal states of neurons
as they develop.
