Bay Area startup Twist Bioscience is working with Microsoft and University of Washington to find ways to store data on DNA.
Twist has miniaturized the DNA synthesis process, and says it’s able to write DNA faster, at a lower cost, and at a higher throughput than most other synthesis companies. So far, Twist has primarily synthesized genes for companies that bioengineer their drugs using organisms like yeast.
Notably, last year, the UW and Microsoft partnership encoded an OK GO music video on a fragment of DNA — proof of concept that genetic data storage needn’t apply only to biology.
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