A single gram of DNA could theoretically hold a staggering 215,000 terabytes of information.
Yet despite the potential, turning it into a practical computing solution has been a struggle.
Conventional methods for encoding data into DNA strands involve making custom DNA sequences from scratch.
Scientists call this process “de novo synthesis.”
This technique is labor-intensive, slow, expensive, and error-prone.
The scientists used this to essentially “print” new data onto existing DNA.
The researchers engineered 700 different DNA “movable jot down” components from nucleic acids.
The breakthrough is comparable to writing a book with a word processor rather than a hammer and chisel.
The researchers also created a user-friendly DNA storage app called iDNAdrive that makes the process accessible even to non-scientists.
Sixty volunteers with no biotechnology training manually encoded around 5,000 bits of text data using the software.
Another of the app’s perks is that it increases the accessibility of DNA storage outside of the laboratory.
If this is achievable and affordable, it will eliminate the need for data centers.
The company claims its unit will be ready in three years.
Image credit:Sangharsh Lohakare
