Researchers in Germany and Taiwan were apparently unsatisfied with the various existing uses for salmon and decided to find a new function for the tasty fish, or at least its DNA. Mixing salmon DNA with silver nanoparticles and electrodes, the researchers created a "write-once-read-many-times" data storage device, reports Gizmag's Ben Coxworth. In their recent study in Applied Physics Letters, the researchers say the device could turn into a less-expensive alternative to silicon for data storage. "The device is made up of a thin film of salmon DNA that has been impregnated with silver atoms, then sandwiched between two electrodes. When UV light is shone onto the system, the atoms cluster together into nanoparticles," Coxworth says.
HT: Popular Science