Breakthrough data storage innovation: One DNA molecule can store tons of data

But, as compared to hard drives, DNA has two major advantages: size and durability.

Researchers claim that this is equated to 2,000 years when exposed at 50 degrees Celsius yet, the data was intact when it was retrieved and even error free when they decoded it.

“We are nonchalantly throwing all of our data into what could become an information black hole without realizing it”, he said in Feb 2015.

Robert Grass, Ph.D., and his team are planning to present significant information about the use of DNA as a method of archival data storage.

An ounce of DNA can fit on a penny, the news site writes, storing 300,000 terabytes of memory that can survive for up to 1 million years.

Information archivists have warned that modern forms of data storage, such as magnetic disk drives, are not expected to last more than a few decades. “On a hard drive, we use 0s and 1s to represent data, and in DNA, we have four nucleotides A, C, T and G”.

Scientists used a machine to synthesize DNA molecules, and they were heated to 71C for a week, or the equivalent of being stored at 50C for 2,000 years.

They have also developed a mathematical algorithm normally used in long-distance radio transmissions to eliminate any errors when deciphering the data written in the digital genetic code of DNA.

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has “fossilized” DNA by encapsulating it in glass, The Independent reports, to prolong the life of DNA that would store data. It’s still prohibitively expensive, and there’s no system to search and archive the information-something the Swiss researchers plan to look into in the near future.

Like many technologies in their early years, DNA storage comes with a hefty price tag. Furthermore, DNA from hundreds of thousands of years ago can still be sequenced today.

The next challenge is to find a way of searching for information encoded in strands of DNA floating in a drop of liquid.

“If you go back to medieval times in Europe, we had monks writing in books to transmit information for the future, and some of those books still exist”, Dr. Grass said.

Right now, we can read everything that’s in that drop.

To date, researchers are still sorting out how to label and search for specific information in the stored data in the DNA and also, making the technique more affordable.

The cost of storage is also an issue thus far, as it would take thousands of dollars to encode and store only a few megabytes of data. In other words, consumers won’t have the option of buying DNA-based hard drives anytime soon.

A handful of analysis teams are exploring strategies to reap the benefits of DNA’s storage potential.

“This interest in preserving information is something we have lost, especially in a digital world”, he adds.

The researchers will offer a presentation of their innovative work today, at the 250th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Society. Rather than having to decode the entire strand of DNA, the researchers want to be able to pinpoint the specific location of one file. “And that is what I might like to assist tackle and encourage individuals to do: Save we’ve got at this time for future occasions”.