Blood contains nuclear DNA, which can be used to identify someone, said Dr. Kobilinsky.
A small number of children each year are born with faults in their mitochondrial DNA which can cause diseases.
Instead of using a virus to deliver the reprogramming genes, the researchers used a small circular piece of bacterial DNA which can replicate in the cytoplasm.
Using their DNA, which can be extracted from their scat, and radio-tracking collars, scientists have logged some extraordinary journeys.
Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Mori were two-thirds of the No Wave band DNA, which can be seen for a riveting few minutes in the current film "Downtown '81".
"Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer," Dr. Benjamin said.
"Believe me, there is no DNA which can save any politician, especially now," Mrs. Bakoyannis, 56, said during a recent interview in her sunny office near the Acropolis.
In a retrovirus, RNA is reverse transcribed into DNA, which can then integrate into the chromosomal DNA of the host cell that the retrovirus infects.
The fifth recipient, Knome, offers consumers a complete sequence of their DNA, which can be used to glean disease risk information.
In 2005, the foundation invested six million dollars in a project to study the myeloma genome — a complete record of the cancer cells' DNA — which can help doctors determine how virulent a patient's disease is likely to be, and which treatments might be most effective.
But researchers have discovered new ways to stuff digital information over the last few years – including in our DNA, which can last thousands of years intact.
