New DNA 'page numbers' method enables accurate assembly of long genetic sequences

The power of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing has made it possible to design genetic sequences encoding for diverse biological applications, such as proteins that form the building blocks of materials stronger than steel, or personalized cancer treatments. But the act of constructing DNA sequences to realize those designs has been a significant bottleneck. Due to technological limitations, chemical DNA synthesis has been limited only to creating short pieces of DNA. However, DNA molecules on the scale of genes or genomes can be tens to thousands of times longer than current capabilities allow. Without DNA construction, AI-powered biological designs cannot be verified or improved—meaning that the blueprints for futuristic new technologies cannot be realized.