Friday, August 17, 2012

Bases for bits, a book is written as DNA

Bases for bits, a book is written as DNA:

We're getting so good at sequencing DNA that it's beginning to create a data crisis as we struggle to store all the data coming off the sequencing machines. Now, however, some researchers have reversed the process, taking some information—an entire book—and storing it in the form of DNA. And they find that it is actually a very efficient form of storage, although reading and writing remains a hassle.
Why would you want to stick information in DNA? For one, if properly stored, it can be stable for centuries and even millennia, which is as good as most books and better than most digital storage media. And, as the authors point out, we don't have to worry about having any sort of special mechanism (like, say, a DVD player) to get the data back out: "DNA’s essential biological role provides access to natural reading and writing enzymes and ensures that DNA will remain a readable standard for the foreseeable future."
Finally, DNA can easily be stored in a three-dimensional space, something that can't be done with most other forms of media. Earlier methods of storing data in DNA have led to storage densities that were competitive with some of the most elaborate forms of digital storage that have been experimented with, like quantum holography and bits made from 12 atoms. But the earlier DNA work was done with less advanced technology, and the new work uses the latest and greatest to impressive results: an improvement of two orders of magnitude in storage density.
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