E.coli is encoded with confidential information

Scientists have developed a method of encoding information into E. coli bacteria through genetic technology to transmit confidential information.

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This finding is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

E.coli bacteria glow in other colors
each other and encrypted information (Photo: meningitis101)

By modifying the selected genes of E. coli, scientists make these bacteria produce fluorescent proteins, which can glow into seven different colors under ultraviolet light.

Those colors will be arranged to create an encoding system with alphabets, numbers from 1-9 and some other symbols.

Messages contained in E. coli cannot be detected, until the recipient opens it by immersing the bacterium in a special solution.

'Obviously, this is a secret storage application for securing information transmission, preventing fraud and providing authentic information , ' said lead author David Walt of Tufts University in Massachusetts said.

The study was funded by the US Department of Defense through the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).