Gene editing can turn living cells into minicomputers that can read, write and perform complex calculations. The technology could track what happens inside the body over time.
DNA computers have been around since the 1990s, when researchers created DNA molecules able to perform basic mathematical functions. Instead of storing information as 0s and 1s like digital computers do, these computers store information in the molecules A, C, G and T that make up DNA.
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One problem is this information doesn’t change during the cells’ lifespan, making DNA computers very slow. Now Fahim Farzadfard at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, and his colleagues have created a technique that speeds up the process.
They call the system DOMINO, for DNA-based Ordered Memory and Iteration Network Operator. It is designed to respond to different biological cues, such as small molecules or light, and builds on CRISPR gene-editing techniques.
Current technologies used to edit the genes of living cells or organisms are limited to just ‘read’ or ‘write’ operations, which means their capacity to store data stops after one or two molecular events. In contrast, this tool can be programmed to edit DNA after complicated chains of events occur – encoding more information quickly.
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One application for the system could then be used to monitor sugars, for example, by programming it to respond to lactose and inserting it in a bacteria. When the bacteria encounters those sugars, DOMINO would make the changes to the bacteria’s DNA.
The history of events are stamped onto the DNA in the form of unique mutational signatures that do not fade over time even after the cues fade away, says Farzadfard.
Molecular Cell
