DNA stores data in bits after epigenetic upgrade

An epigenetic upgrade allows DNA to store information as a binary code — the strings of 0s and 1s used by standard computers. Researchers developed a system in which short, prefabricated DNA “bricks” — with or without methyl groups — could be added to a reaction tube to form a growing DNA strand that represented a desired binary code. The encoded information could then be read using a DNA-sequencing technique that detects the methyl groups along the strand.