Tag Archives: DNA

Malware Encoded Into DNA Hacks the Computer that Reads It

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Do you know — 1 Gram of DNA Can Store 1,000,000,000 Terabyte of Data for 1000+ Years?

Even in March this year, a team of researchers successfully stored digital data — an entire operating system, a movie, an Amazon gift card, a study and a computer virus — in the strands of DNA.

But what if someone stores a malicious program into the DNA, just like an infected USB storage, to hijack the

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Synthetic Biology Creates Living Computers

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Most people have at least a fuzzy idea of what DNA is. Ask about RNA, though, and unless you are talking to a biologist, you are likely to get even more handwaving. We hackers might have to reread our biology text books, though, since researchers have built logic gates using RNA.

Sometimes we read these university press releases and realize that the result isn’t very practical. But in this case, the Arizona State University study shows how AND, OR, and NOT gates are possible and shows practical applications with four-input AND gates and six-input OR gates using living cells. The …read more

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These People Want to Genetically Engineer Pink Chickens

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The Pink Chicken Project wants to use CRISPR to alter all chickens’ DNA in order to send a message about the health of our environment. Continue reading These People Want to Genetically Engineer Pink Chickens→

Get into Biohacking on the Cheap with this Electrophoresis Rig

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If you want to get into electronics, it’s pretty straightforward: read up a little, buy a breadboard and some parts, and go to town. Getting into molecular biology as a hobby, however, presents some challenges. The knowledge is all out there, true, but finding the equipment can be a problem, and what’s out there tends to be fiendishly expensive.

So many would-be biohackers end up making their own equipment, like this DIY gel electrophoresis rig. Electrophoresis sorts macromolecules like DNA or proteins by size using an electric field. For DNA, a slab of agarose gel is immersed in a buffer …read more

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OSM (Pronounced Awesome) Hardware Makes DNA in Space

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OSM stands for Oligonucleotide Synthesizer designed for use in Microgravity, meaning that it’s a device that makes arbitrary DNA strands (of moderate length) in space. Cool eh? I’ve been working on this project for the last eight months with a wonderful team of fellow hackers as part of the Stanford Student Space Initiative, and I’d like to share what we’re doing, what we’ve already done, and where we’re going.

Why space? Well, first of all, space is cool. But more seriously, access to arbitrary DNA in space could accelerate research in a plethora of fields, and the ability …read more

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