Encoding methods
Countless methods for encoding data in DNA are possible. The optimal methods are those that make economical use of DNA and protect against errors
In vivo
The genetic code within living organisms can potentially be co-opted to store information
History
The idea of DNA digital data storage dates back to 1959, when the physicist Richard P. Feynman
Davos Bitcoin Challenge
On January 21, 2015, Nick Goldman from the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), one of the original authors of the 2013 Nature paper
The Lunar Library
The Lunar Library, launched on the Beresheet Lander by the Arch Mission Foundation, carries information encoded in DNA
In DNA data storage, the four nucleotide bases (A, C, G, T) store and encode data. Information is stored in permutations of three nucleotides bases, called
codons. DNA storage comprises three processes: coding the data, synthesizing and storing it, and decoding it.DNA data storage involves creating synthetic DNA and writing information on the DNA itself to store
binary data. It allows significantly more digital data to be stored compared to traditional computer drive-based storage methods.
What is digital data storage in DNA? DNA digital data storage refers to any process to store digital data in the base sequence of DNA. This technology uses artificial DNA made using commercially available oligonucleotide synthesis machines for storage and DNA sequencing machines for retrieval. This type of storage system is more compact than current magnetic tape or hard drive storage systems due to the data density of...
Digital storage systems encode text, photos, or any other kind of information as a series of 0s and 1s. This same information can be encoded in DNA using the
four nucleotides that make up the genetic code: A, T, G, and C. For example, G and C could be used to represent 0 while A and T represent 1.Scientists believe that in time, using this method, 0.04 ounce (1 g) of artificial
DNA could
store the
data of some 3,000,000 CDs and that all this information could be preserved for hundreds if not thousands of years. Potentially, this system could
store the whole world’s digital archive.
DNA has thus been dubbed “the ultimate hard drive.”