Around the world, scientists are exploring an unexpected solution to the growing data crisis: storing digital information in synthetic DNA. The idea is simple but powerful—DNA is one of the most compact, durable information systems on Earth.

But one issue has held the field back. Once data is written into DNA, it can’t be changed.

Now, researchers at the University of Missouri are helping solve that problem by transforming DNA from a one-time medium into a rewritable digital hard drive.

“DNA is incredible—it stores life’s blueprint in a tiny, stable package,” Li-Qun “Andrew” Gu, a professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at Mizzou’s College of Engineering, says.

“We wanted to see if we could store and rewrite information at the molecular level faster, simpler, and more efficiently than ever before.”