Communications of the ACM
Storing Data in Dna Brings Nature Into the Digital niverse
The next frontier of data storage: DNA.
Credit: ymgerman/Shutterstock.com
Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) note they currently hold the record (200 MB) for the amount of information stored in and retrieved from DNA molecules.
The general methodology involves assigning digital data patterns to DNA nucleotides, and individual DNA strands must be significantly shorter than digital computer files--about 20 bytes of storage capacity for each strand--as lengthier strands complicate chemical synthesis. Following assignment of letter order, the DNA sequences are fabricated on a letter-by-letter basis with chemical reactions.
A benefit of this process is the simultaneous generation of many identical sequences, which ensures sufficient backup copies.
A sequencing machine that analyzes genomic DNA in cells is employed to read the data back out of storage, with the many backup copies guaranteeing data preservation even as the process destroys the DNA being read.
The UW researchers have developed methods enabling identification and reading of only the specific pieces of information needed for retrieval from DNA storage.
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