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<span style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;
color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;
line-height: 110%;">OPLIN 4Cast #320: Storing
data on DNA</span><br>
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<span style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal;
color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-style: italic;
font-family: arial;">February 6th, 2013</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><img
alt="DNA"
src="cid:part4.05090708.06060508@oplin.org"
height="77" width="150" align="left">Seems like
it has only been a few years since we were using
3.5" floppy disks to store all the data we thought
we needed. Now you can easily buy a microSD card
the size of your thumbnail for less than $10 that
can store the same amount of data as 5,900 floppy
disks. And in the future, is it possible we might
actually be using DNA to store truly huge amounts
of data? Some researchers in the US and the UK
seem convinced that is exactly what the future
holds in store for us - but not for a few decades
yet.
</p>
<div> </div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/01/half-a-million-dvds-in-your-dna.html">Half
a million DVDs in your DNA</a> (Science/Robert
F. Service) "Institutions such as the Large
Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator in
Geneva, Switzerland, produce on the order of 15
petabytes of data each year. So the need for
vast archival storage is growing rapidly. Now,
such institutions commonly archive data by
storing it on magnetic tape. Keeping that data
safe over many decades requires rewriting it at
regular intervals, adding to the cost of
preservation. DNA, on the other hand, can be
stable for thousands of years if kept in a cool,
dry place."</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://www.technologyreview.com/news/510246/why-dna-will-someday-replace-the-hard-drive/">Why
DNA will someday replace the hard drive</a>
(MIT Technology Review/Katherine Bourzac) "The
magnetic tapes typically used for archival
storage become brittle and lose their coating
after a few decades. And even if the physical
medium used to store information remains intact,
storage formats are always changing. This means
the data has to be transferred to a new format
or it may become unreadable. DNA, in contrast,
remains stable over time-and it's one format
that's always likely to be useful."</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://www.engineeringontheedge.com/2013/02/dna-data-storage/">DNA
data storage</a> (Engineering On The
Edge/Brian Albright) "The researchers converted
their data into binary code, then converted it
into trinary code (0s, 1s, and 2s). The data was
then rewritten as strings of DNA chemical bases
(As, Gs, Cs, and Ts). By encoding the
information multiple times, they ensured it
could be read back with 100% accuracy."</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://blogs.computerworld.com/data-storage/20865/future-data-storage-revealed">The
future of data storage revealed in molecules
of DNA</a> (Computerworld/Chris Poelker) "The
article states that the researchers believe it
would only take 1.5 milligrams of DNA (the
weight of a small mosquito) to store one
petabyte of data. The implications of this news
are astounding. If this innovative way of
storing data actually becomes commercially
viable, we would be able to fit the entire
Library of Congress in a test tube. All the data
housed on the Internet could be stored in a
small closet."</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<p style="text-align: left; font-size: 20px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><small><strong><em>Cost
fact:</em></strong></small><br>
</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;">DNA
synthesis is currently so expensive, it would only
make sense to use DNA storage for data intended to
be kept for 500 years or more. Prices are
dropping, however, and DNA data storage is
expected to be cost-effective for general use
within 50 years.
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
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