The future of data storage is double-helical, research indicates

Imagine the cello Suite No. 1 being played on a strand of DNA.

The scenario is not impossible. DNA is a powerhouse for storing audio files and all kinds of other media.

Nature's original data storage system is calledDNA. Kasra Tabatabaei, a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and a co-author of the study, said that they can use it to store any kind of data.

A multi-institutional team was able to transform the double helix into a robust, sustainable data storage platform thanks to the expansion of DNA and the development of a new sequencing method.

The paper was published in February 2022.

Anyone who is brave enough to navigate the daily news feels that the global archive is growing heavier by the day. Paper files are being digitized to save space and protect information from natural disasters.

A double helix data lock box is ideal for anyone with information to store.

One of the best options to store archival data, if not the best option, is DNA, according to a co-author of the study.

Sometimes for tens of thousands of years, DNA is designed to weather Earth's harshest conditions and remain a viable data source. Scientists can uncover genetic histories and breathe life into long- lost landscapes.

The police box that Dr. Who used to use is bigger on the inside than it appears.

Several petabytes of data are generated on the internet every day. Only one gram of DNA is enough to hold that data. Tabatabaei said that it is how dense DNA is as a storage medium.

The natural abundance and near-infinite renewability of DNA is not shared by the most advanced data storage system on the market today, and this is because of the fact that Silicon microchips, which can last for decades, are often dumped in a heap of landfilled e-waste.

At a time when we are facing unprecedented climate challenges, the importance of sustainable storage technologies cannot be underestimated. New, green technologies for DNA recording are emerging that will make molecular storage even more important in the future, according to Olgica Milenkovic, the Franklin W. Woeltge Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a co-PI on the study.

The team looked at the past of data storage. The researchers added their twist.

Every strand of DNA contains four chemicals that are referred to by the initials A, G, C, and T.

Adding seven synthetic nucleobases to the existing four-letter lineup expanded the capacity for information storage.

Imagine the English alphabet. You could only create so many words if you only had four letters. If you had the full alphabet, you could write a lot of words. That is the same with genes. Tabatabaei said we can convert zeroes and ones to A, G, C, T, and the seven new letters in the storage alphabet.

Members of the team innovated around a unique challenge: Not all current technology is capable of interpreting chemically modified DNA strands. They combined machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop a first-of-its-kind method for processing DNA.

Their solution can distinguish modified chemicals from natural ones.

Pan said that their method was able to differentiate each of them perfectly.

The translation comes from the opening in the middle of a DNA strand. Remarkably, the team found that the units can be distinguished by their natural or chemical origins.

The James Economy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering said that the work provides an exciting proof-of-principle demonstration of extending macromolecular data storage to non-natural chemistries.

History was made by storing genetic information. The future of data storage is double-helical according to the study.

More information: S. Kasra Tabatabaei et al, Expanding the Molecular Alphabet of DNA-Based Data Storage Systems with Neural Network Nanopore Readout Processing, Nano Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c04203 Journal information: Nano Letters Citation: The future of data storage is double-helical, research indicates (2022, March 3) retrieved 3 March 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-03-future-storage-double-helical.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.