1s And 0s

In the first place, my tongue always slips when I try to say digital, and it sounds like Chinese Portugese for watercress sandwich.
In the second place, I once asked a science-minded colleague over lunch what digital meant and he said, "I always think of it as 1s and 0s."
Stopped conversation for five minutes and then I let him talk about baseball, which I never, ever do.
So, yeah, I don't understand anything about the following New York Times article about the latest in nano research, but it sounds important and maybe you can translate.
No, never mind.
Don't write. Don't call. Thank you.
Okay, wait, they're exploring biological generation of this stuff? Am I on Mars?