Reliable storage of information in DNA (2.2 petabytes per gram)

On Habré experimental technologies of writing / reading information in DNA were repeatedly mentioned . The DNA molecule stores information in the quadratic number system, by the number of nucleotides (0 = A, 1 = T, 2 = C, 3 = G). It is a compact container with a recording density thousands of times larger than existing media. However, in order for the technology to move from scientific testing to commercial use, a number of problems must be solved. One of them is the specifics of digital information, in which the same bits can be repeated many times (CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC). If you repeatedly repeat the same nucleotide in a DNA molecule, then this negatively affects the stability of the cluster and information can be lost, even when using excessive duplication and error correction.

Researchers from the European Institute of Bioinformatics published a paper describing how to significantly increase DNA stability. Simply, they propose to abandon the quaternary system (Base-4) in favor of the ternary (Base-3), and use the fourth nucleotide for official purposes to break up long chains (CCCACCCACCCACCCACCCCC).



During the experiment, researchers recorded almost a megabyte of information in DNA, including all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in .txt format, a video recording of Martin Luther King's speech lasting 26 seconds, the cover of the Bioinformatics Institute magazine in .jpeg format, and scientific work describing the structure of DNA in .pdf format, as well as another file with a description of the encoding process. In total, everything fit in 739 kilobytes.

When switching from Base-4 to Base-3, we lose 25% of the information capacity, but even in this version, scientists report an information density of 2.2 petabytes per 1 gram of biological material. The experiment showed the reliability of reading information 100%. Theoretically, this scheme is capable of scaling within the limits exceeding the volumes of all existing digital information, the authors of the study write.

Based on the current technological progress in the field of synthesis and sequencing, DNA carriers for recording information should appear on open sale within ten years. Although DNA can store information for millennia, the first commercial carriers will be sold with a guarantee of up to 50 years, the researchers say.

To date, the cost of encoding information in DNA is estimated at approximately$ 12,400 per megabyte , the reading cost is $ 220 per 1 MB. Within a decade, prices should fall by several orders of magnitude.