Storing data in glass with lasers and personalised mRNA vaccines for cancer: Nature Podcast

Overview

The Nature podcast covers two timelines in advanced science. First, a Microsoft Research team develops a method to store data inside borosilicate glass using ultrafast laser pulses, enabling three‑dimensional, highly dense archival storage that could last for millennia. Second, the episode reports on a small, personalised mRNA vaccine trial for triple‑negative breast cancer, highlighting feasibility, safety, and early immune responses in a diverse set of patients.

Both segments illustrate how cutting‑edge material science and immunotherapy are expanding the boundaries of what is possible in data preservation and cancer treatment.

Introduction and Context

This Nature podcast presents two main stories that sit at the intersection of technology and health. The first story examines a novel archival data storage approach using glass, while the second dives into a cancer vaccine trial that leverages personalised mRNA sequences. Each segment features expert insights and practical questions about scalability, cost, durability, and clinical relevance.

Section 1 – Archival data storage in glass

In the first segment, reporter Anand Jagatir talks with Richard Black from Microsoft Research about Project Cilli, a technique that writes data into borosilicate glass using ultrafast femtosecond laser pulses. The idea is to permanently modify the glass structure without affecting its transparency, enabling the storage of terabytes within a small glass sample. The storage is three‑dimensional, extending in X, Y and Z across a piece of glass roughly the size of a DVD and 2 millimetres thick, allowing hundreds of data layers to be packed into a compact volume.

Reading the data requires a microscope and a high‑speed camera that sweeps through the focus to image the stored patterns, which are then decoded by processing the images. The talk emphasizes durability, with lifetimes estimated to exceed 10,000 years, assuming stable environmental conditions. This could drastically reduce ongoing energy costs compared to traditional data centers, since data remains passive once stored.

"reading is really about taking a small region of the glass and sweeping it through the focal plane of the microscope and taking lots of images with a high‑speed camera as the data comes into focus" - Richard Black, partner research manager at Microsoft Research

Section 2 – Readout and durability

The discussion details how the data is written with extreme precision to create a plasma‑induced nano explosion inside the glass, permanently altering its structure in a way that can later be detected. The researchers describe the glass as a durable, low‑maintenance medium suitable for archival storage, with practical considerations around temperature and material properties driving long‑term decay. The overall takeaway is that, once data is in glass, the ongoing energy and environmental footprint to keep it can be far lower than for conventional data storage technologies.

"lifetimes of more than 10,000 years" - Richard Black

Section 3 – The vaccine trial for triple‑negative breast cancer

The show shifts to a different frontier: cancer immunotherapy. Marcus Schmidt explains a small proof‑of‑concept trial in which personalised mRNA vaccines were designed from patients’ tumour and blood samples to generate bespoke immune responses. The goal is to train T cells to recognise tumour features and prevent recurrence, particularly for triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC), which historically has fewer targeted treatment options.

Experts from BioNTech and collaborating institutions discuss the rapid, individualized vaccine production timeline, which averaged about nine weeks per patient, and the observed safety profile with mild, flu‑like side effects. Among 14 participants, 11 have remained cancer‑free for up to six years since vaccination, suggesting a potentially meaningful immune response. The discussion also highlights challenges common to personalised approaches, including cost and the feasibility of broader application.

"The key takeaway is that this study shows how this platform, mRNA vaccines for cancer, is feasible" - Marcus Schmidt, physician and author

Section 4 – Expert perspectives and next steps

Voices from independent researchers weigh in on the study’s implications for clinical practice and future research. Oliveira Finn urges caution about full clinical feasibility and cost, while Oslem Tirichi from BioNTech discusses the immunological mechanisms underpinning the observed responses. The discussion touches on the need for larger randomized trials to validate efficacy and to explore whether a personalised approach or a more off‑the‑shelf strategy will ultimately be most effective and scalable.

"I would like to see something that's not so personalised" - Oliveira Finn

Section 5 – Conclusion

The episode closes with reflections on how these advances could reshape data storage and cancer treatment, emphasizing the ongoing role of expert evaluation, cost considerations, and the pace of development in translating laboratory breakthroughs into real‑world impact. The show notes point listeners to further reading and related coverage.