Beginnings of Organic Storage Technology

I was reading an article on live science about how they have encoded 100 bits of information in a strand of artificial DNA and added it to a common bacteria. The bacteria not only kept the information, when it multiplied the data was copied as well. a good read for anyone remotely interested in the idea of possible data transferrance between organics. Perhaps in 30 or more years we could have the first brain transplant.


New Technique stores data in bacteria

-Aza

This is Biological as Organic is a larger category which includes non-living substances and products.

As for the Brain Transplant? What do you mean? Like putting your brain in another body or replaces parts of your brain with artificial parts to augment performance/cure disease.

Originally posted by sardion2000
This is Biological as Organic is a larger category which includes non-living substances and products.

As for the Brain Transplant? What do you mean? Like putting your brain in another body or replaces parts of your brain with artificial parts to augment performance/cure disease.

I don't see the connection between storing data in genes and brain transplants either, but, nonetheless...

World's first brain prosthesis revealed

It's supposed to replace the hippocampus, which is where memory and experience is encoded (i.e. short-term memory).

The fact that data can be stored organically is a push towards the ability to either regrow your brain or do some kind of data tranferance between and old one and a freshly grown brain. Yeah kinda a loooong ways away from it, but just another notch closer to that idea.


-Aza

I think what Azathoth means is 'downloading' information into the brain, a la Matrix style (I know kung fu...), or else the transference of information between two people, like downloading information from a professor's brain instead of going to class.

Very interesting story, though. It reminds me of one a few years back where some Israeli scientists got bacteria to do some simple math, like 2+2 and things like that. I'm always glad whenever there is a discovery like this in the biological fields, since I feel that is the most untapped field of science these days, and that we have more to learn there than in other fields of science.

Originally posted by Azathoth
The fact that data can be stored organically is a push towards the ability to either regrow your brain or do some kind of data tranferance between and old one and a freshly grown brain. Yeah kinda a loooong ways away from it, but just another notch closer to that idea.


-Aza

That still has nothing to do with storing data in DNA, nor can the method be used to transfer memory and experience.

Research on DNA progresses much faster than neuroscience (i.e. study of our nervous system, including--nay, especially our brain). Even studying the Universe has proven to be easier than studying our own brain.

I know that in sci-fi, genetic memory is often a plot device (e.g. Dune), but if it happened in real life, the memory/experience copying method would require something many times more complex than DNA.