What can DNA do for long (long)-term digital data storage?
Shared by Radhika Narayanan | 12	45	0 | about 3 years ago
Microsoft purchased 10 million long oligonucleotides – DNA or RNA molecules used for genetic testing and research – from San Francisco startup Twist Bioscience, and is using them to encode digital data.
Twist Bioscience uses a proprietary semiconductor-based synthetic DNA manufacturing process to create synthetic biology tools such as genes, oligonucleotide pools and variant libraries.
Its Microsoft's idea that DNA's resilience and unparalled storage capacity could hold huge opportunity for housing digital data, which is big and getting bigger – more than 5 trillion gigabytes, according to some estimates, and doubling every two years.
The thought is that using DNA as an archival technology address two big limitations of digital storage media: lifespan and low density.capacity could hold huge opportunity for housing digital data, which is big and getting bigger – more than 5 trillion gigabytes, according to some estimates, and doubling every two years.
The thought is that using DNA as an archival technology address two big limitations of digital storage media: lifespan and low density.
DNA data storage could last up to 2,000 years without deterioration, according to Twist Bioscience – and a single gram of DNA can store nearly trillion gigabytes of digital information.
"We need new methods for long-term, secure data storage," said Doug Carmean, a Microsoft partner architect within the company's Technology and Research organization, in a statement.
The hope is that Twist's scalable, silicon-based DNA synthesis technique offers an opportunity to harness the DNA, to become a viable long-term storage medium.
"Today, the vast majority of digital data is stored on media that has a finite shelf life and periodically needs to be re-encoded," said Emily M.
Categories Digital Biology & Genetics Integrated Omics
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