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Final report from the 2021 HIGH-TECH FORUM handed over as data stored on DNA – in conjunction with MOSLA LOEWE

Results from the 2021 HIGH-TECH Forum stored on DNA developed by MOSLA LOEWE at the University of Marburg
© HIGHTECH-FORUM 2021
Results from the 2021 HIGH-TECH Forum stored on DNA developed by MOSLA LOEWE at the University of Marburg

The final report was handed over to Secretary of State, Christian Luft, in the form of a cube at the end of the 2021 HIGH-TECH FORUM; he accepted it on behalf of German Federal Education Minister, Anja Karliczek, while meeting the conditions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The cube contains DNA developed by the MOSLA LOEWE cluster for storage purposes.  

Working with the High-Tech Forum, the MOSLA LOEWE cluster is sending 500 small tubes with DNA that can be used for storage purposes to interested parties: people can register for this via the High-Tech Forum. The synthetic DNA stored in the little tubes contains the digitalised and coded report about the results of the High-Tech Forum related to the 2025 High-Tech Strategy (1 megabyte). One copy of the DNA used for storage purposes only weighs one hundred trillionth of a gram. Several copies have been saved to increase the level of data security. It would be possible to store one hundred billions times the information in the report in one gram of DNA. The little tubes will now be stored by the participants in their securely closed state and sent back to MOSLA again in four years’ time.

The DNA will then be decoded by the scientists involved and the findings emerging from this will be published. The LOEWE cluster believes that it will obtain information about the storage life of DNA that is used as a memory in a practical way thanks to the support from those taking part.

The High-Tech Forum is publishing its central recommendations for the future innovation strategy in Germany today. The committee is pressing for financial support and is calling for greater boldness and determination in implementing proposals to help meet the sustainability goals. The report states that it is important to strengthen the mission-oriented approach. A broad innovation package would help practically achieve more results in top research work on a large scale. Start-ups emerging from the academic world will need to be encouraged and facilitated. Deliberate deregulation and more space for experimentation will be just as necessary as effective participation formats, it concludes.