Experts Engineer Cells to Store Vital Molecular Data

An article in Nature titled Real-time molecular recorders expose the inner lives of cells presents a new, revolutionary strategy for turning living cells into self-reporting data storage machines.

Through the advances in CRISPR gene editing, scientists can engineer cells to work like living “black boxes” that automatically record hidden timelines of cellular activity, including when a signaling pathway was switched on, how long a cell was exposed to a drug, or the history of genetic changes that occurred as the cell transitioned from healthy to diseased. This capability enables cells to become “molecular record-keepers” of complex biological processes such as aging, development, and cancer.

This new class of molecular recorders is vital in overcoming previous limitations in biological research: tracking cell history without destroying the cell. The data, stored in the cell's DNA or protein chains, can be read out later using fluorescent markers. This breakthrough will enable the collection of quantitative data to elucidate disease mechanisms and speed up drug discovery, formulate new diagnostics and therapeutic interventions.

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