PolyU Team Embeds Files Within Collagen-Inspired Proteins

Researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have achieved data storage and retrieval using proteins engineered to act as digital data carriers, demonstrating the potential for a sustainable and high-capacity alternative to conventional storage methods. Inspired by the sequence pattern of collagen, Professor Zhongping Yao and his interdisciplinary team designed a protein “backbone” to embed encoded files, successfully expressing data-bearing proteins via E. coli. This approach outperforms both DNA and peptides in storage capacity and stability, with proteins preservable in powder or solution form, addressing limitations of hard drives and cloud storage strained by the growth of data from artificial intelligence. The team’s findings have been published in Nature Communications.…