DNA storage DNA storage is a project that several research teams are working on.
Summary
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- 1
- 2 Advantages of DNA storage.
- 3 Save data in DNA
- 4 The future of storage.
- 5 Microsoft experiments.
- 6 Think about the following.
- 7
History.
Tech companies are keen on what could be a real revolution, and Microsoft has bought ten million strands of DNA from Twist Bioscience, a specialized startup collaborating with those from Redmond and the University of Washington.
Biological storage research treats DNA like any other digital storage device. Instead of binary data that is encoded as magnetic regions on a hard drive platter, DNA strands are synthesized that store 96 bits where each of the bases (TGAC) represent a binary value (T and G = 1, A and C = 0).
To read the information stored in the DNA, you just have to sequence – as if it were a human genome – and convert each of the TGAC bases back to binary. To help with sequencing, each strand of DNA has a 19-bit address block at the beginning (the red bits in the image below) so the DNA can be sequenced out of order and then sorted into usable data using the directions.
DNA storage advantages.
The advantages of DNA storage are remarkable. Its incredible density would allow storing 1 billion Tbytes in one gram. As an example, to store the information of a single drop of DNA we would need 233 3 Tbyte hard drives with a total weight of 151 kilograms.
In addition to capacity, it would be a memory with zero energy consumption, it could survive unchanged for thousands of years and the technology could be used while life on Earth existed, something that no other type of “material” can offer. Otherwise, it is possible to store the data in the DNA of living cells (although only for a short time). Imagine a spy like James Bond carrying data for secure transfers on his skin.
There is still a lot of research to achieve this DNA storage and overcome its problems and costs, which also has it because DNA cannot be rewritten and new sequences would have to be created permanently if we wanted to use it, for example, as a hard disk. The cost of genetic sequencing and the preparation of oligonucleotides such as those purchased by Microsoft must also be lowered.
In addition to storage, obtaining the ability to program data into DNA cells opens up multiple fields of research in others such as medicine, in everything related to cells, such as cancer. A science fiction technology today but in the future biological storage will allow us to record anything and any size.
Save data in DNA
The researchers carried out a series of experiments after which they managed to store an impressive amount of data within a DNA molecule, which is then preserved in a special chamber.
Achieving this was not easy: first, they had to synthesize a DNA molecule in a laboratory, a complicated process, but one that offers good results. Once the molecule was extracted and modified, they were ready for the second step.
Now, it was the turn to work on the information that one wanted to keep. To do this, it was encoded through trinary codes and then inserted into DNA through chemical traces.
The results were excellent: They managed to store 2.2 petabits in a single gram of DNA, which could then be recovered 100% and without any errors.
The future of storage.
Although the experiment was successful, we are still several years away from being able to implement DNA data storage, mainly due to the costs it includes.
In any case, the researchers indicated that, thanks to advances in science, the process of synthesizing molecules is becoming more economical, which is what adds costs to this method.
The idea is to use DNA to store data that needs to be backed by a large number of years, since only a dry and cold environment is enough for them to be preserved without difficulties.
One problem with this technology is that DNA cannot be rewritten, so it will be necessary to create new sequences each time you want to update or add data.
In any case, it is becoming easier to transcribe different types of data into the language that can be inserted and then transcribed from DNA molecules.
In addition, this technology will continue to be available as long as life exists on Earth, an advantage that no other known method offers and that opens doors to a number of uses, although for now only scientific.
A new function for DNA, which responds to the increasingly high need to find ways to store data relevant to the development of science.
Microsoft experiments.
Microsoft wants to take a step beyond storage as we currently know it to delve into the world of biology and genetic material. Specifically, those from Redmond have bought ten million strands of DNA to experiment with the use of DNA as a storage material.
Microsoft has bought ten million strands of DNA from startup Twist Bioscience to investigate the use of genetic material as a data storage medium. The information density that DNA can store is much higher than traditional systems with the capacity to store 1 zettabyte (1,000,000,000 TB) in one gram. In addition, it has a very high resistance and can store information for hundreds of years.
These characteristics make it an ideal candidate for long-term information storage. And it is not the first time that you have experimented with it. As early as 2013 binary information was stored in this genetic material and it was estimated that it could remain available in it for more than 500 years.
The problem? Well, the reading and writing of the data. Although it is known that information can be stored for a long time and put a lot of data, the really complicated thing comes from the point of carrying or reading the information into DNA. The writing seems to be overcome with a machine built by startup Twist Bioscience that generates the DNA strands.
A custom DNA sequence sells for around 10 cents per base, although this company wants to lower its cost to just 2 cents. Research laboratories are currently its main customers, using these DNA strands in search of new products and substances.
Reading is the really expensive part of the whole process. It is true that the cost has dropped in the last 20 years. DNA sequencing is the process used to “read the data.” In the case of the human genome project, it cost $ 3 billion, although now it can be done for about $ 1,000.
However, this is not enough for it to be commercially viable. Despite this, Microsoft has been very interested in all this. If they can reduce the costs of the technology, DNA storage could become a viable alternative.
Think about the following.
The cell’s DNA contains billions of biological data that are preserved for a very long time. “We can extract [DNA] even from the bone of a mammoth, … and it can still be read,” says Nick Goldman of the European Institute of Bioinformatics. “Also, it is incredibly small and dense,” he adds, “and it does not need electricity, making it very easy to maintain and transport.” Could DNA store man-made information? The scientists’ answer is yes.
A team of researchers has managed to store images and text and audio files in artificial DNA — just as with digital devices — and then extract them without error. Scientists believe that, over time, one gram (0.04 ounces) of artificial DNA could store the information on three million discs for hundreds – or even thousands – of years. In principle, this system could store all the digital information on the planet. This is why DNA has been called “the ultimate in hard drives.”
