DNA digital data storage
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
DNA digital data storage refers to any scheme to store digital data in the base
sequence of DNA. This technology uses artificial DNA made using commercially
available oligonucleotide synthesis machines for storage and DNA sequencing machines for
retrieval. This type of storage system is more compact than current magnetic tape or hard
drive storage systems due to the data density of the DNA. It also has the capability for longevity,
as long as the DNA is held in cold, dry and dark conditions, as is shown by the study of woolly
mammoth DNA from up to 60,000 years ago, and for resistance to obsolescence, as DNA is a
universal and fundamental data storage mechanism in biology. These features have led to
researchers involved in their development to call this method of data storage "apocalypse-proof"
because "after a hypothetical global disaster, future generations might eventually find the stores
and be able to read them." [1] It is, however, a slow process, as the DNA needs to be sequenced
in order to retrieve the data, and so the method is intended for uses with a low access rate such
as long-term archival of large amounts of scientific data.[1][2]
Contents
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1 History
2 See also
3 References
4 Further reading
History[edit]
The idea and the general considerations about the possibility of recording, storage and retrieval
of information on DNA molecules were originally made by Mikhail Neiman and published in 1964–
65 in theRadiotekhnika journal, USSR.[3]
On August 16, 2012, the journal Science published research by George Church and colleagues
atHarvard University, in which DNA was encoded with digital information that included an HTML
draft of a 53,400 word book written by the lead researcher, eleven JPG images and one
JavaScript program. Multiple copies for redundancy were added and 5.5 petabits can be stored in
each cubic millimeter of DNA.[4] The researchers used a simple code where bits were mapped
one-to-one with bases, which had the shortcoming that it led to long runs of the same base, the
sequencing of which is error-prone. Thisresearch result showed that besides its other functions,
DNA can also be another type of storage medium such as hard drives and magnetic tapes.[1]
An improved system was reported in the journal Nature in January 2013, in an article lead by
researchers from the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) and submitted at around the same
time as the paper of Church and colleagues. Over five million bits of data, appearing as a speck
of dust to researchers, and consisting of text files and audio files, were successfully stored and
then perfectly retrieved and reproduced. Encoded information consisted of all 154 of
Shakespeare's sonnets, a twenty-six-second audio clip of the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin
Luther King, the well known paper on the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick, a
photograph of EBI headquarters in Hinxton, United Kingdom, and a file describing the methods
behind converting the data. All the DNA files reproduced the information between 99.99% and
100% accuracy.[2] The main innovations in this research were the use of an error-correcting
encoding scheme to ensure the extremely low data-loss rate, as well as the idea of encoding the
data in a series of overlapping short oligonucleotidesidentifiable through a sequence-based
indexing scheme.[1] Also, the sequences of the individual strands of DNA overlapped in such a
way that each region of data was repeated four times to avoid errors. Two of these four strands
were constructed backwards, also with the goal of eliminating errors.[2] The per-megabyte costs
were estimated at $12,400 to encode data and $220 for retrieval. However, it was noted that the
exponential decrease in DNA synthesis and sequencing costs, if it continues into the future,
should make the technology cost-effective for long-term data storage within about ten years.[1]
See also[edit]
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DNA computing
DNA nanotechnology
Nanobiotechnology
Natural computing
References[edit]
1.
2.
3.
4.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e Yong, E. (2013). "Synthetic double-helix faithfully stores Shakespeare's
sonnets". Nature.doi:10.1038/nature.2013.12279. edit
^ Jump up to:a b c Goldman, N.; Bertone, P.; Chen, S.; Dessimoz, C.; Leproust, E. M.; Sipos,
B.; Birney, E. (2013)."Towards practical, high-capacity, low-maintenance information storage in
synthesized DNA". Nature 494(7435): 77–
80. doi:10.1038/nature11875. PMC 3672958. PMID 23354052. edit
Jump up^ https://sites.google.com/site/msneiman1905/eng
Jump up^ Church, G. M.; Gao, Y.; Kosuri, S. (2012). "Next-Generation Digital Information Storage
in DNA". Science337 (6102): 1628. doi:10.1126/science.1226355. PMID 22903519. edit
Further reading[edit]
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Edwards, Lin (August 17, 2012). "DNA used to encode a book and other digital
information". Phys Org (Phys Org). Retrieved 2013-01-28.
Mardis, E. R. (2008). "Next-Generation DNA Sequencing Methods". Annual Review of
Genomics and Human Genetics 9: 387–
402. doi:10.1146/annurev.genom.9.081307.164359. PMID 18576944.edit
Cole, Adam (January 24, 2013). "Shall I Encode Thee In DNA? Sonnets Stored On Double
Helix?"(Download article and audio is available). National Public Radio.
Naik, Gautam (January 24, 2013). "Storing Digital Data in DNA". The Wall Street
Journal (New York City: Dow Jones & Company). Retrieved 2012-01-25.
Wall Street Journal article. "Storing Digital Data in DNA"
Ewan Birney's Blog. "Using DNA as a digital archive media"
 Also see "The 10,000 year archive"
Ed Yong's National Geographic blog. "Shakespeare’s Sonnets and MLK’s Speech Stored in
DNA Speck"
DNA Sequencing Caught in Deluge of Data. The New York Times (NYTimes.com).