When was the last time your phone complained that you’re running out of storage – annoying right? Often it results you in deciding which photos to delete or which app(s) you will say goodbye to. Now, imagine you are in charge of a massive data centre, e.g. for Amazon or Facebook, and someone tells you that you can replace your massive data centres with a couple shipping containers with the exact same data? Crazy! How is this even possible? How can all this data be stored in a much denser way?
As I realised whilst writing about Ada Lovelace and fractals, nature is the best place to see things happen and to be inspired. Now, where in nature is data stored? DNA of course! DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid and is essentially the carrier of genetic information. Just think about the amount of DNA that makes us. In fact, did you know that humans have about 10 trillion cells and that if you lined up all the DNA found in every cell of the human body, it would stretch from the sun to the Earth at least a staggering 50 times! Insane! Also, did you know a single gram of DNA can hold roughly a zettabyte (that is the equivalent of 1 billion terabytes.)
So, now that we understand where the idea of using DNA comes from, how can we actually use it to store data? Well, how do we store data on the media we use today? On hard drives and DVDs we change the magnetic, electrical or optical properties of a material to store binary digits (0s and 1s). So, could be change the properties of DNA? Or, could we create DNA that matches the binary digit codes?
In one sentence, we are converting digital binary code into a genetic file. And, in three simple steps; code it, synthesize and store it, and finally, retrieve and decode it.
1) Coding
Data is saved using digital binary codes. These digital binary codes can be translated to pairings of DNA bases (Adenine, Thiamine, Guanine and Cytosine). For example, A = 00, G = 01, C = 10 and T = 11.
2) Synthesis & Storage
Through biological engineering, the DNA is created with strands to match the digital binary code sequence. After they have been created, they are dried and stored in a container that keep them cold and blocks water and light in order to protect them against damage.
3) Retrieval & Decoding
It’s all well and good storing data in a much denser way, but, if we can’t get back the data we saved, then what good was it really? Here, the DNA is run through a sequencer which returns the genetic code. We can then translate this back into digital binary code, allowing us to access that data we saved.
As mentioned earlier, DNA is able to store immense amounts of data very densely. With humanities growing storage problem (I mean, we only just created more data in the past 2 years than in ALL of preceding history), being able to store data in an ultra compact way that can last hundreds and thousands of years if kept in a cool and dry place (just like that pack of Ramen Noodles in the pantry) is most definitely advantageous. Furthermore, unlike cassette tapes (do you even remember those things), CDs and hard disks, DNA won’t degrade over time.
However, don’t get too excited about the millions of totally useful (but really useless) photos and apps you could download on your phone in the near future as DNA synthesis is slow and expensive (due to the precision and accuracy required to make them). At the moment, it is not suitable for mass production, but, perhaps one day in the future DNA could be a realistic permanent storage for all data.
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Ada Knowe 🙂
References:
www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/dna-could-store-all-worlds-data-one-room
www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-dna-storage-breakthrough-could-pave-way-for-exabyte-drives/
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