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The “tape” can be inserted into a device that peruses, recovers, and alters the data.(Image credit: Javier Zayas Photography/Getty Images)ShareShare by:
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Are you running low on memory on your device? Hold off on purchasing extra cloud storage just yet. Researchers in China have found that pictures, textual documents and other electronic details can be kept in chains of DNA joined to a 330-foot-long (100 meters) plastic filament with the capability of holding the equivalent of 3 billion tracks.
This is quite dissimilar to a gadget that Microsoft engineered in 2016, which succeeded at packing 200 megabytes of data into a trace of DNA “considerably smaller than a pencil point.”
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DNA represents a lengthy, double-helical molecule formed from a particular sequence of four chemical units — adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T) — that together encode the genetic specifics of an organism. Likewise, each digital document ultimately has a sequence of 1s and 0s that a computer can understand as a PDF, JPEG or a different file variety.
Supposing each base were to symbolize a particular configuration of 0s and 1s, a piece of artificial DNA could then be coded to include the binary code for digital documents. This kind of molecule does not originate from a living being but is put together in the laboratory by attaching pre-made nucleotide building components together in the required arrangement.
This is what the researchers did ahead of imprinting the coded DNA on a lengthy piece of tape. A liquid holding the strands was spread over the filament so that they adhered to the polymeric surface.
“DNA holds the possibility of becoming the next-generation data storage method because of its great data density,” the writers noted in the report. “The coiled design of the DNA tape effectively maximizes the spatial usage of the material, allowing portability and increasing the number of usable locations and storage capacity by stretching its length.”
Each portion of the tape receives a barcode that signals which file it holds. A camera affixed to the cassette-player-esque machinery then scans the tape while it travels between its two spools, pinpoints a file and dips that spot into an alkaline solution that lets the DNA loose. The DNA is then sequenced, and the sequence of units can then be changed into the code of the file.
Data archiving for centuries — if not millennia — of years
The researchers are optimistic that their DNA tape has the potential to present an answer to the multiplication of digital data, which has been made worse massively by the recent generative artificial intelligence (AI) boom. They approximate that a segment approximately 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) in length has the capacity to store up to 362,000 terabytes of data — an amount equivalent to about 60 billion photos. As a benchmark, laptops usually ship with between 0.5 and 2TB of archiving, while cell phones commonly have at a minimum 128GB or 256GB.
In addition to its large storage capacity, the team reported that the data that the DNA tape holds has the potential to be preserved for a considerable period. This stems from the fact that the DNA strands are retained within metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — cages at a molecular level that are constructed from zinc ions — which lend a layer of protection.
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It’s generally known that DNA keeps its constitution for centuries, and the team discovered that their tape had the ability to save data for over 345 years at ambient conditions or for about 20,000 years at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). They also suggested in the report that the DNA tape can be fixed with transparent tape should it get damaged.
Other than recognizing and pulling out DNA strands that relate to a particular file, the reader is able to enfold fresh DNA strands in MOFs and deposit those onto the tape. It can also autonomously discern whenever a DNA strand sits in the wrong barcoded location and move it to the correct one.
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Although DNA data archiving has been studied considerably throughout the years, this is among the first solutions to display sophisticated “file system” behavior, signaling that files have the potential to be recovered, revised or erased. It is also robotic in function rather than needing a blend of manual and instrumental processes, and it is equipped to manage “warm” (often reached) data in addition to “cold” (infrequently reached) data.
However, issues still linger. The genuine synthesis of DNA still takes time and money, and it involves using big tools. Further, getting back one file from the tape needs about 25 minutes. As a result, the DNA cassette player, in its current form, fails to deliver a sensible means of archiving our electronic data.
That being said, the researchers are hopeful that their research may lead to an innovation that is capable of keeping huge quantities of both warm and cold data in a compressed format, thereby reducing the need for the large data hubs being used today.
Fiona Jackson
Fiona Jackson operates as a freelance editor and writer, centering mainly on science and tech topics. She has previously been employed as a journalist on the science desk at MailOnline, and has also covered enterprise tech reports for TechRepublic, eWEEK, and TechHQ.
Fiona obtained significant experience authoring stories of human interest for international news agencies with the SWNS press agency. She holds a Master’s degree in Chemistry, an NCTJ Diploma and lives with a cocker spaniel named Sully in Bristol, UK.
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