Researchers at Stanford University have successfully reapplied natural enzymes adapted from bacteria to flip specific sequences of DNA back and forth at will. This switch on/switch off ability means DNA can effectively be 'programmed' - something that could have breakthrough implications for the treatment of ageing and diseases such as cancers.

The research team call their device a 'recombinase addressable data' module (RAD). The RAD can modify specific sections of DNA with microbes that determine how the one-celled organisms will fluoresce under ultraviolet light.

The microbes glow red or green depending upon the orientation of the DNA section. Using RAD, reserarchers can flip the section back and forth as required.

"Programmable data storage within the DNA of living cells would seem an incredibly powerful tool for studying cancer, aging, organismal development, and even the natural environment," says Drew Endy, the senior author on the paper.

You can read the full story here. The team published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 21 May under the title: Rewritable digital data storage in live cells via engineered control of recombination directionality. Authors are Jerome Bonnet, Pakpoom Subsoontorn, and Drew Endy. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1202344109

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