DNA as a carrier of information

The topic of information storage is extremely relevant these days. That's why corporations, such as Microsoft, are investing in research, during which scientists are trying to use DNA to store data.

The DNA itself contains information about the body. It encodes almost everything: appearance, physical abilities, propensity to one or another disease. This makes deoxyribonucleic acid an ideal material for storing information in the future.

DNA is better than most existing storage facilities.

It does not degrade over time and is very compact. Just imagine: 4 grams of DNA can contain the information produced by all mankind in a year!

The trend towards growing media capacity has been the norm for the past few years, and the need for more memory has not disappeared. We need something even more reliable and capacious than before. The answer is DNA. The study, published by Yaniv Ehrlich and Dina Zelinski in Journal Science, showed exactly this.

Two researchers used 72,000 DNA strands (each 200 bases long) and stored six files:

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"We compared the bits of the files with DNA-nucleotides. Then we synthesized these nucleotides and stored the molecules in a test tube, "Erlich told ResearchGate. "To pack information, we developed a strategy - the so-called DNA fountain - that uses mathematical concepts from coding theory. It was this strategy that allowed us to achieve optimal packaging, which was the most difficult aspect of the study. "

After that, they extracted the data using DNA sequencing technology, and then transferred the data into binary form using software. "To get information, we arranged the molecules. This is a fundamental process, "Erlich said.

Huge capacity and durability
Ehrlich explained why DNA is better than existing methods of storing information. He said that DNA has several principal advantages, the main of which is its ultra-small size. The volume of the information store is impressive - it can reach 215 petabytes per gram of DNA, and can be stored for a very long time. The period can exceed 100 years, which is an order of magnitude greater than the lifetime of traditional carriers.

This study proves: for DNA the future of data storage.

Ehrlich expressed confidence that it was time to move on to better technology. "The information carriers quickly become obsolete, my parents used 8-millimeter tapes, which are currently useless," he added. "DNA exists about 3 billion years, and mankind is unlikely to lose the ability to read these molecules." If this happens, we will have problems of a completely different scale. "

When asked how long it would take this technology to be available to everyone, Erlich responded optimistically. "I suppose it will take more than 10 years," he said. "We are still at the beginning of the journey, but even in the field of magnetic media development it took many years before they became public."