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Report . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Report . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Trusted Molecular Memory: Investigating Molecular Trust in Hybrid Bio-Digital Systems

Authors: Kim, Raphael; Heinis, Thomas; Pschetz, Larissa;

Trusted Molecular Memory: Investigating Molecular Trust in Hybrid Bio-Digital Systems

Abstract

Molecular trust is frequently equated with physical unclonable functions (PUFs) that treat fabrication variability as a source of binary authentication. While powerful as security primitives, such models capture only one dimension of trust when computation becomes material. In molecular and biological systems, variability is stochastic, measurement may be invasive, artefacts can be re-synthesised, and verification unfolds within institutional workflows. Unclonability and challenge–response authentication are therefore only part of how the material memory sits within a larger ecology of trust. This paper introduces Trusted Molecular Memory (TMM) as a conceptual framework for reasoning about molecular trust in hybrid bio-digital systems. TMM does not propose a new authentication mechanism. Instead, it examines how molecular traces participate within systems of documentation, interpretation, accountability, and governance, surfacing hidden assumptions in prevailing molecular verification models. Drawing on analysis of existing PUF-style systems, lab practice, and scenario-based reasoning across lifecycle of molecular artefacts, we distinguish unclonability-based authentication from stochastic, process-bound trust. From this analysis, we derive a five-pillar architecture operationalised through a Molecular Chain of Custody (M-CoC) framework. Three stress-test scenarios demonstrate how trust accumulates, degrades, and remains contestable across regeneration, maintenance, and institutional change. We argue that molecular trust is not only object-bound but also procedural and institutionally mediated. Molecular traces contribute to trust when interpreted within documented transitions, attributable decisions, and recognised governance structures.

Keywords

molecular evidence, hybrid computational systems, molecular provenance, bio-digital systems, verification workflows, AI-mediated verification, molecular verification, DNA data storage, physical unclonable functions, trust infrastructures, stochastic verification, Trusted Molecular Memory, human-centered security, molecular chain of custody, provenance systems, auditability

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
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