YouSync stores heritable memory information in the physical orientation of yeast mating-type loci which can be toggled by expression of an endonuclease located within the YouSync. The modular units of YouSync can be readily swapped into numerous contexts to record environmental exposures or changes in internal cell state simply by substituting the endonuclease with CRIPRS/Cas9 together with engineered gRNAs.

YouSync is independent of host organisms and can be triggered bi-directionally (OFF to ON and ON to OFF) via exogenous or endogenous signals. We leverage this computing module and scalable design to create the first ever binary cellular recorder in living cells.

By creating the first ever binary cellular recorder in living cells, we could track cellular events that occur in a particular order, create environmental sensors that store complex histories, or program cellular trajectories. We plan to apply YouSync to follow the trajectory of stem cell differentiation or even the progression of diseases such how cancer cells respond to drugs and develop into tumors.