The future of data storage is double-helical, research indicates

2022-04-14 - 2022-04

This scenario is not as impossible as it seems. Too small to withstand a rhythmic strum or sliding bowstring, DNA is a powerhouse for storing audio files and all kinds of other media. "DNA is nature's original data storage system. We can use it to store any kind of data: images, video, music -- anything," said Kasra Tabatabaei, a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and a coauthor on this study. Expanding DNA's molecular makeup and developing a precise new sequencing method enabled a multi-institutional team to transform the double helix into a robust, sustainable data storage platform. The team's paper appeared in Nano Letters in February 2022. In the age of digital information, anyone brave enough to navigate the daily news feels the global archive growing heavier by the day. Increasingly, paper files are being digitized to save space and protect information from natural disasters. From scientists to social media influencers, anyone with information to store stands to benefit from a secure, sustainable data lock box -- and the double helix fits the bill. "DNA is one of the best options, if not the best option, to store archival data especially," said Chao Pan, a graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a coauthor on this study. Its longevity rivaled only by durability, DNA is designed to weather Earth's harshest conditions -- sometimes for tens of thousands of years -- and remain a viable data source. Scientists can sequence fossilized strands to uncover genetic histories and breathe life into long-lost landscapes. Despite its diminutive stature, DNA is a bit like Dr. Who's infamous police box: bigger on the inside than it appears.

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The future of data storage is double-helical, research indicates

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The future of data storage is double-helical, research indicates