ETH researchers have developed a method that allows large amounts of genetic information to be compressed and then decompressed again in cells. This could aid in the development of new therapies.

What do you do if you have a large document or a high-resolution image that is too big to send via email? You simply zip it to a more manageable size using a suitable software. "Instead of sending the information 'white-white-white-white-white-...' for every single pixel on a white line, only the message 'white 1,000 times' is transmitted," explains Kobi Benenson, Head of the Synthetic Biology Group at ETH's Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering in Basel. Once received, the information can then be returned to its original size, i.e. unzipped.

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