AutoDNA laboratory coordinates over 20 instrument types for autonomous experiments

Researchers demonstrated an autonomous biomolecular laboratory that orchestrates over 20 types of instruments across more than 11,000 steps, a Nature study reports. Called AutoDNA, the system performs DNA synthesis, transcription, amplification and sequencing, with human intervention limited to hardware maintenance such as replenishing reagents and labware. Across four representative applications, AutoDNA matched expert-optimized enzymatic DNA synthesis yields and accelerated concurrent protocol execution by 3.2-fold. It also completed a DNA data storage cycle with exact recovery of the original digital content and identified and validated a clinically detected KRAS G13D mutation. The platform combines AI models, experimental workflows and instruments within a framework serving multiple users.