With today’s data storage limitations rapidly approaching, you may be wondering if there could be another way to store all of our information. Thankfully, there may be an ingenious solution that can solve our world’s data storage problems by using DNA!
In fact, one gram of DNA can store up to 455 exabytes of data (1 EB=1 billion TB). An exabyte has one billion gigabytes.
The world data is around 1.8 zettabytes. 1 zettabyte has 1,000 exabytes. This means we could store all of the digital information in the world in just one room!
Researchers at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) in the UK have proposed that DNA might be able to store all of the world’s data in one room – but only if we convert it all into DNA data code first!
This isn’t the first time DNA has been suggested as a potential storage solution. Theoretically, 1 gram of DNA could store up to 455 exabytes of data, and although it wouldn’t all fit in one room, researchers are predicting that about 20% of that space would be available for long-term storage of digital files.
Check out more details about how this exciting new data storage technology works below!
How Much Data Do We Have Today?
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Today, we create 1.8 trillion gigabytes of data per day.
That’s enough data storage to fill more than 587 billion 1 iPhones with data on a daily basis. As our needs for storing and processing continue to grow exponentially, it is clear that traditional storage methods are not going to be able to keep up with this demand in the future.
DNA could be our future storage solution: In recent years, scientists have made considerable progress in developing methods of storing information in synthetic DNA. As a storage medium, it has several potential advantages.
For one thing, it’s compact—just one gram of DNA can store over 700 million gigabytes of data at current densities, which is about 100 times more data than you’d get from a conventional hard drive today.
How Does DNA Store Information?
DNA molecules store genetic information as a sequence of four nucleotide bases: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). The order of these bases encodes genetic information.
For example, if there is an A on one strand and a T on the other, it means that those two strands are complementary. It’s this ability to store such rich data in such a compact way that researchers looking into how we can use it for data storage.
Storing data on DNA isn’t a new concept. In 2013, Harvard researchers created molecular data storage devices that could hold almost twice as much data as traditional flash drives. They encoded a GIF of their logo and a computer operating system into strands of synthetic DNA and then sequenced it back out again.
The best part about storing data on DNA is that it can last for thousands of years. Some scientists are even looking into how we could use it to store data on Mars because there’s no risk of a power outage when we’re millions of miles away from Earth.
Because DNA degrades over time and isn’t able to withstand heat, there are some kinks that need to be worked out before you’ll be able to throw your USB drive in your freezer.
What Are The Benefits And Challenges Of Using DNA Storage?
DNA storage has a lot of potential benefits. It is capable of storing up to one trillion gigabytes per gram of DNA, which is about 100 times more data than a compact disc can store. The molecules are also relatively stable, lasting for thousands of years if stored correctly. There are some challenges with using this technology though.
For example, it could be difficult for people to access their data because we would need sophisticated equipment and know-how in order to decode it.
There are many uses for DNA storage. The technology could be used for various applications, including long-term archiving of media data, live streaming and even in biological sensors.
How Much Information Can Be Stored on DNA?
DNA molecules can store a lot of information. They are an efficient way of storing data, as they take up less space and can last much longer than other physical storage media. On average, each DNA molecule can hold 800 terabytes of data. This means that only one gram of DNA could theoretically store all of the world’s data in one room.
As an example, a computer disk can hold up to 4TB. A single gram of DNA can hold 800 terabytes of data, which is 2,100 times larger than a disk drive. If you are only able to store 1GB (gigabyte) per second, it would take you around 100 years to fill up a gram of DNA with data.
What is Synthetic Biology, and How Will it Change Our Lives
Synthetic biology is the creation of artificial biological systems for technological purposes. Scientists are using it to create new life forms and improve existing ones, but most people don’t know about synthetic biology because so much of it is done behind closed doors.
There is a lot of buzz around synthetic biology, but most people don’t know exactly what it is.
Synthetic biology brings together genetic engineering, biotechnology, and information technology to develop new kinds of organisms. It allows us to engineer life from scratch and make living systems behave as we choose. We can create new types of living organisms that do not exist in nature or resurrect extinct species that no longer roam our planet.
Synthetic biology is still in its infancy, but it will become big business soon and profoundly change our lives. Just as computers and the internet changed how we live and work over a few decades, synthetic biology will do so in real time.
This technology is on an exponential growth curve, and there’s no way for us to predict precisely how it will impact our daily lives.
Conclusion
DNA storage is an exciting new technology that could be the answer to our data storage problems. The DNA molecules are so small that millions of them can fit in a single droplet of water, which would allow for easy scaling from tiny amounts of data all the way up to exabytes of information.
And since each molecule can store so much information, it could last for hundreds or even thousands of years without any degradation.
However, before we can transition to a DNA-based world, scientists must be able to retrieve stored data quickly and accurately.
Early tests were somewhat successful at pulling out large fragments of data, but in order for researchers to reconstruct the information as it was initially stored, they need more time and better software. Many experts predict that it will take several years of research before scientists figure out how to read and write DNA strands with high precision.
FAQ’s
How much data could you store in one gram of DNA?
In one gram of DNA, there would be about 1,000 petabytes. This is equivalent to 250 billion photos from a high-end DSLR camera or 5 years’ worth of HD video footage.
What are the benefits of using DNA as a data storage medium?
DNA is durable, compact, and can store massive amounts of information
What are some challenges with using this technology at present?
The biggest challenge with using DNA at present is that it takes a long time to read and write data. However, as technology improves, we might be able to significantly reduce both of these barriers.
How long will it take for DNA storage devices to become commercially viable?
It’s hard to estimate, but it might be within 5–10 years. If scientists discover a much faster way to write and read information from DNA strands, we could see rapid growth in the adoption of DNA storage devices.
