Scientists successfully store "e=mc2 1905" on DNA of living matter

cljanney · 03-01-2007, 09:23 PM

What ever happened to old school biological data storage? Like simply carving your girlfriend's + your initials into a tree during teenage infatuation?

Ahh, the old days....

http://www.computerworld.com/action/...icleId=9011945

Scientists: Data-storing bacteria could last thousands of years
Scientists successfully store "e=mc2 1905" on DNA of living matter

February 27, 2007 (Computerworld) -- A Japanese university announced scientists there have developed a new technology that uses bacteria DNA as a medium for storing data long-term, even for thousands of years.

Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences and Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus announced the development of the new technology, which creates an artificial DNA that carries up to more than 100 bits of data within the genome sequence, according to the JCN Newswire.

The universities said they successfully encoded "e= mc2 1905!" -- Einstein's theory of relativity and the year he enunciated it -- on the common soil bacteria, Bacillius subtilis.

While the technology would most likely first be used to track medication, it could also be used to store text and images for many millennia, thwarting the longevity issues associated with today's disk and tape storage systems -- which only store data for up to 100 years in most cases.

The artificial DNA that carries the data to be preserved makes multiple copies of the DNA and inserts the original as well as identical copies into the bacterial genome sequence. The multiple copies work as backup files to counteract natural degradation of the preserved data, according to the newswire.

Bacteria have particularly compact DNA, which is passed down from generation to generation. The information stored in that DNA can also be passed on for long-term preservation of large data files, the scientists said.

Foolish Old · 03-01-2007, 09:32 PM

Can anybody explain the details of how this works? How is the data encoded and decoded?

XYNaPSE · 03-03-2007, 07:47 PM

Puts a whole new meaning to Johnny Mnemonic.

03-01-2007, 09:23 PM	#1
cljanney Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 751	Scientists successfully store "e=mc2 1905" on DNA of living matter What ever happened to old school biological data storage? Like simply carving your girlfriend's + your initials into a tree during teenage infatuation? Ahh, the old days.... http://www.computerworld.com/action/...icleId=9011945 Scientists: Data-storing bacteria could last thousands of years Scientists successfully store "e=mc2 1905" on DNA of living matter February 27, 2007 (Computerworld) -- A Japanese university announced scientists there have developed a new technology that uses bacteria DNA as a medium for storing data long-term, even for thousands of years. Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences and Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus announced the development of the new technology, which creates an artificial DNA that carries up to more than 100 bits of data within the genome sequence, according to the JCN Newswire. The universities said they successfully encoded "e= mc2 1905!" -- Einstein's theory of relativity and the year he enunciated it -- on the common soil bacteria, Bacillius subtilis. While the technology would most likely first be used to track medication, it could also be used to store text and images for many millennia, thwarting the longevity issues associated with today's disk and tape storage systems -- which only store data for up to 100 years in most cases. The artificial DNA that carries the data to be preserved makes multiple copies of the DNA and inserts the original as well as identical copies into the bacterial genome sequence. The multiple copies work as backup files to counteract natural degradation of the preserved data, according to the newswire. Bacteria have particularly compact DNA, which is passed down from generation to generation. The information stored in that DNA can also be passed on for long-term preservation of large data files, the scientists said.

03-01-2007, 09:32 PM	#2
Foolish Old Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Florida Keys Posts: 16,372	Can anybody explain the details of how this works? How is the data encoded and decoded? __________________ Foolish "We have met the enemy and he is us."-POGO. "I have great faith in fools; self-confidence my friends call it."~Edgar Allan Poe "Dream big, you might never wake up!"- Snoop Dogg

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03-03-2007, 07:47 PM	#3
XYNaPSE Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,121	Puts a whole new meaning to Johnny Mnemonic.