DNA drives: another record

Scientists have recorded a record 200 megabytes of data in DNA

Oleg Lischuk, N+1

American scientists have managed to record the largest amount of data in DNA to date, according to the Microsoft blog (Microsoft and University of Washington researchers set record for DNA storage).

The company's employees, together with scientists from the University of Washington, have saved more than 200 megabytes of data in the form of nucleic acid. In particular, the recording includes digitized works of art, 100 greatest literary works from the Gutenberg Project, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in more than 100 languages, the seed database of the non-profit organization Crop Trust and the clip This Too Shall Pass by OK Go in high resolution. According to Microsoft project manager Karin Strauss, this clip was chosen because it has many parallels with the work of researchers.

Physically, this information fit in a volume "significantly smaller than the tip of a pencil," said employee Douglas Carmean. "In fact, it is a test tube, and it is only with great difficulty that you can see that there is something in it. It looks like a little dried salt at the bottom," Strauss explained.

200 megabytes of data in the form of a pinkish dot at the bottom of the test tube
Tara Brown Photography / University of Washington

According to Luis Ceze, who heads the project from the university, the work became possible thanks to the latest achievements of the biotechnology industry in the field of synthesis ("recording") and sequencing ("reading") of nucleic acids. Nevertheless, for the widespread use of DNA as an archival information carrier, many technological and economic difficulties have yet to be overcome, he noted.

During the recording, scientists converted zeros and units of digital information into four "letters" of nitrogenous bases: A (adenine), C (cytosine), G (guanine) and T (thymine). Based on the electronic version of the resulting sequence, the contractor Twist Bioscience synthesized DNA fragments 150 nucleotides long each. In total, about 1.5 billion nitrogenous bases were needed for recording.

According to the researchers, in the future DNA can become the main material for archiving information and prevent a data storage crisis, since it allows you to store giant arrays of information in a small volume (according to Strauss estimates, a shoebox-sized storage can replace about 100 large modern data centers). In addition, under the right storage conditions, DNA retains its properties for hundreds, and even thousands of years, which exceeds the capabilities of modern information carriers by orders of magnitude.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  08.07.2016