Abstract

DNA is an interesting molecule: a digital information storage medium operating at atomic scale and thus with a far higher storage density than the current human-designed state-of-the-art. I will discuss how modern biology has been revolutionised by rapid developments in the technologies that allow DNA sequences to be read and written. These same technologies are being used in the emerging field of synthetic biology, which aims to exploit existing biological systems in novel ways. Examples include the use of DNA as a high density storage medium; the design of novel genetic circuits that operate in living cells or in cell extracts; the redesign of whole genomes and the rational design of nano-scale self-assembling structures built from synthetic DNA , including systems that have interesting dynamics and have the capability to carry out simple computations. Thus, as a tool for programming matter at the atomic level and in other ways, DNA is poised to become an even more interesting molecule.