Researchers Encode Replication Instructions Into 3D-Printed Objects to Launch the "DNA of Things"

Researchers from ETH Zurich and Erlich Lab claim to have found a means to store the data required for replication directly into 3D-printed objects — using DNA molecules embedded in glass beads, creating what they are calling "the DNA of Things."

ETH Zurich's investigations began with an observation: Given a 3D-printed object, there's no easy way to see exactly how it was printed and to print more — bar scanning the object and creating a new model, which over several generations will degrade the quality and capture printing defects which were not part of the original design. The answer: Encode instructions on how to print an object within the object itself, allowing it to be reproduced at any time.

"With this method," says ETH Zurich Professor Robert Grass of the work his researchers and project partner Erlich Lab have carried out, "we can integrate 3D-printing instructions into an object, so that after decades or even centuries, it will be possible to obtain those instructions directly from the object itself. Just like real rabbits, our rabbit also carries its own blueprint."

The system works by encoding the printing instructions for a given object — around 100kB of data, in the case of the rabbit used in the experiment — into DNA molecules, which are encased in tiny glass beads added to the plastic used for the print. Once printed, the beads can be recovered and decoded to reveal the original instructions for printing another - a process the team carried out five times, ending up with a "great-great-great-grandchild" rabbit indistinguishable from the original.

"All other known forms of storage have a fixed geometry: a hard drive has to look like a hard drive, a CD like a CD. You can't change the form without losing information," adds co-author Yaniv Erlich. "DNA is currently the only data storage medium that can also exist as a liquid, which allows us to insert it into objects of any shape."

For those looking towards commercialisation, however, there is one major roadblock: Cost. According to Professor Grass, encoding a small 3D model into DNA for inclusion into a print costs around CHF2,000 (around $2,034) — most of which is spent synthesising the required DNA molecules. Erlich, though, has a suggestion for an untapped market with deep pockets: Spies and other data smugglers. "It would be no problem to take a pair of glasses [with embedded DNA] through airport security," he explains, "and thus transport information from one place to another undetected."

The team's work has been published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.