2 replies to this topic

[Raklian]

About four grams of DNA theoretically could store the digital data humankind creates in one year

The researchers used binary code to preserve the text, images and formatting of the book at a density of 5.5 petabits (1 million gigabits) per cubic millimeter.

And where some experimental media — like quantum holography — require incredibly cold temperatures and tremendous energy, DNA is stable at room temperature. “You can drop it wherever you want, in the desert or your backyard, and it will be there 400,000 years later,” Church said.


http://www.kurzweila...e-a-book-in-dna

[Craven]

Cool, but i dunno if error rate of DNA is acceptable for our way of coding. But I can see potential of using third base pair for error correction or markers and flags. We won't store data in way other than binary. But we could use that third symbol for other purposes.

[EVanimations]

I think what they forgot about here is that DNA is very dynamic and mutates constantly. It can be mutated by radiation, viruses and chemicals... I doubt the integrity of the data would survive for 40,000 years, let alone a couple weeks.

While we could THEORETICALLY use DNA for storage, mutation would be a massive obstacle and make it extremely impractical.