Researchers Cram 700TB of Data Into One Gram of DNA
Could the key to unlimited storage be found in our very own DNA?
Despite decades of research, Deoxyribonucleic Acid, better known as DNA, is still considered to be one of the most complex structures in existence. Naturally, scientists have been working hard to fully harness the unique powers of DNA.
One potential use of DNA is its potential to store digital data. Because of its extremely dense structure, stability and survivability, DNA is an ideal candidate for massive data storage. While many extreme storage mediums need to be kept in strict temperature environments, DNA is able to survive for thousands of years at room temperature.
Taking full advantage of its properties, Harvard researchers George Church and Sri Kosuri have successfully stored 700 terabytes of data into a single gram of DNA.
Surprisingly, the process was somewhat similar to traditional storage devices. While standard digital storage devices encode fragments of binary data onto hard drive platters, the DNA storage process synthesizes strands and encodes binary values onto each of its four DNA bases (TGAC). To read the stored data, all you would have to do is sequence the unique strands of DNA - in a similar fashion as sequencing the human genome.
While this method may be capable of storing staggering amounts of data, synthesizing and sequencing DNA is no simple task. While modern lab equipment has certainly evolved over the years, DNA reading and writing would be a costly and lengthy process. Although this suggests DNA should be used for archival purposes, who knows what the future holds.

Well, if the data magically gets transformed by a virus, that will help me explain all that 700TB of po...
I wonder how they can prevent them from getting at the DNA?
Well, if the data magically gets transformed by a virus, that will help me explain all that 700TB of po...
It's really not that surprising to me, because the parallels between how life works and how computers work seem extremely strong. If you think about it in the context of computer code, even the similarities in DNA among different living organisms make sense. Most of the core code will be similar and shared, regardless of the task the program performs.
Maybe it is no coincidence that humans developed computer technology because it reflects how we ourselves work, and consequently, also how we think.
It will never be an easy task, similar to how it would not be an easy task to figure out how a large complex program like Windows 7 works without having access to the source code, but I believe it will all make sense when we can fully reverse-engineer it.
That is the same weight as a teaspoon of sugar. Wow.
The size of DNA is the size of DNA... there is no larger version.
The only difference is the length of the DNA chain... but a shorter span of DNA would carry less information. For all practical purposes, there is no difference in size between what would store 1 kilobyte of information vs 100000 terabyte of information. It's all ridiculously tiny.
You store a bunch of chick flicks in your DNA memory and a few years later when you play them back they all mutated into Zombie movies.
OK, had too much silly juice again :-)
"I carry all my porn with me".