MIT's Jurassic Park-like DNA storage can store photos for centuries

The new amber-like polymer preserves DNA at room temperature, shielding molecules from heat and water damage.

Taking inspiration from the movie Jurassic Park, a team of MIT researchers has tried to replicate scientists’ recreating a colony of long-extinct dinosaurs using DNA that had been stored in amber for millions of years.

The team has produced a glassy, amber-like polymer that can be used to store DNA for a long time—whether full human genomes or digital information like images.

According to researchers, current methods for storing DNA typically require freezing temperatures, which consume substantial energy and make them impractical in many regions.

In contrast, the new method can store DNA at room temperature, safeguarding the molecules from damage caused by heat or moisture.

“I think our new preservation method is going to be a technology that may drive the future of storing digital information on DNA,” said James Banal, a chemistry professor at MIT and senior author of the study, in a statement.

DNA’s storage potential

Due to its remarkable stability, DNA is ideal for storing vast amounts of data, including digital information. Digital storage devices encode text, images, and other data types as sequences of 0s and 1s.

The four nucleotides—A, T, G, and C—that make up the genetic code can be used to encode the same information in DNA. For instance, 0 may be represented by G and C and 1 by A and T.

According to researchers, DNA provides a very high-density method of storing this digital data: The world’s data might theoretically be stored in a coffee cup filled with DNA. DNA is also very stable and relatively easy to synthesize and sequence.

Efficient DNA embedding

In 2021, Banal and MIT professor Mark Bathe created a method to store DNA in silica particles, tagged to indicate their contents, leading to the spinout Cache DNA. However, embedding DNA in silica takes days and requires hazardous hydrofluoric acid for removal.

Seeking alternatives, Banal collaborated with his MIT colleague Jeremiah Johnson and his lab to develop a storage material using degradable thermoset polymers. When heated, these polymers form a solid and have cleavable links for controlled degradation.

The researchers developed a hydrophobic, amber-like thermoset polymer from styrene and a cross-linker that protects DNA from moisture. To make it degradable, they copolymerized styrene with thionolactones, which are cleavable by cysteamine.

Overcoming styrene’s hydrophobicity, they identified three monomers to help dissolve and interact with DNA, forming spherical complexes. When heated, this solution turns into a glass-like block embedding DNA.

Their method, T-REX (Thermoset-REinforced Xeropreservation), embeds DNA in hours, potentially faster with optimization. According to the team, to release DNA, they add cysteamine to cleave the polymer, followed by SDS detergent to extract the DNA without damage.

Advancing DNA storage

Using these polymers, the scientists demonstrated that they could encapsulate DNA of different lengths, ranging from tens of nucleotides to the full human genome (more than 50,000 base pairs).

After storing and retrieving the DNA, the researchers sequenced it and confirmed no errors, a crucial feature for any digital data storage system. They also demonstrated that the thermoset polymer protects DNA at temperatures up to 75°C (167°F).

The team is now focused on streamlining polymer production and forming them into capsules for long-term storage.

Cache DNA, founded by Banal, Bathe, and Johnson on the scientific advisory board, is advancing DNA storage technology. They foresee initial applications in storing genomes for personalized medicine and potential future analyses as technology improves.

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