Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37400476›Full record

ArticleNature communications2023

A biological camera that captures and stores images directly into DNA.

Cheng Kai Lim, Jing Wui Yeoh, Aurelius Andrew Kunartama, Wen Shan Yew, Chueh Loo Poh

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. DNA storage: The future direction for medical cold data storage.Synthetic and systems biotechnology · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Cheng Kai LimSynthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117456, Singapore.
Jing Wui YeohSynthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117456, Singapore.
Aurelius Andrew KunartamaSynthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117456, Singapore.
Wen Shan YewSynthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117456, Singapore.ORCID 0000-0002-3021-0469
Chueh Loo PohSynthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117456, Singapore. poh.chuehloo@nus.edu.sg.ORCID 0000-0001-5312-2835
National University of Singapore · SG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The increasing integration between biological and digital interfaces has led to heightened interest in utilizing biological materials to store digital data, with the most promising one involving the storage of data within defined sequences of DNA that are created by de novo DNA synthesis. However, there is a lack of methods that can obviate the need for de novo DNA synthesis, which tends to be costly and inefficient. Here, in this work, we detail a method of capturing 2-dimensional light patterns into DNA, by utilizing optogenetic circuits to record light exposure into DNA, encoding spatial locations with barcoding, and retrieving stored images via high-throughput next-generation sequencing. We demonstrate the encoding of multiple images into DNA, totaling 1152 bits, selective image retrieval, as well as robustness to drying, heat and UV. We also demonstrate successful multiplexing using multiple wavelengths of light, capturing 2 different images simultaneously using red and blue light. This work thus establishes a 'living digital camera', paving the way towards integrating biological systems with digital devices.

Indexed as

DNADNA ReplicationHigh-Throughput Nucleotide SequencingLightDNA

Identifiers

PMID37400476
PMCPMC10318082
OpenAlexW4382937131

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.