New ‘DNA cassette tape’ can store up to 1.5 million times more data than a smartphone — and the data can last 20,000 years if frozen
Are you running out of space on your phone? Don’t upgrade your cloud storage subscription yet. Chinese scientists have discovered that images, text files and other digital data can be stored in strands of DNA fused into a 100-meter-long strip of plastic, capable of holding the equivalent of 3 billion songs.
It’s a far cry from a device built by Microsoft in 2016 that managed to cram 200 megabytes of data into a touch of DNA. “much smaller than the tip of a pencil.”
DNA is a long double-helical molecule consisting of a unique sequence of four chemical bases—adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T)—that together code for an organism’s genetic information. Likewise, every digital file is ultimately a combination of 1s and 0s that a computer can interpret as a PDF, JPEG, or other file.
If each base were to represent a specific pattern of 0s and 1s, then a piece of artificial DNA could be coded to contain the binary code for digital files. This type of molecule does not come from a living organism, but is assembled in the laboratory by linking pre-made nucleotide building blocks together in the desired sequence.
This is what the scientists did before printing the encoded DNA onto a long piece of adhesive tape. A solution containing the strands was passed over the strip so that they were adsorbed to the surface of the polymer.
“DNA has the potential to become the next generation information storage medium due to its high storage density,” the authors write in the study. “The coiled configuration of the DNA tape effectively maximizes the spatial utilization of the material, enabling portability and increasing the number of available areas and storage capacity by increasing its length.”
Each section of the tape is printed with a barcode indicating which file is inside it. A camera installed on the machine similar to a cassette player then scans the tape as it moves between its two rollers, locates a file and immerses that spot in a basic solution that releases the DNA. The DNA can then be sequenced and this base sequence can be translated into the file code.
Storing data for hundreds or even thousands of years
The researchers hope their DNA band could offer a solution to proliferation of digital datawhich has been massively exacerbated by the generative phenomenon artificial intelligence (AI) boom. They estimate that a room about 1 kilometer long could contain up to 362,000 terabytes of data, the equivalent of around 60 billion photos. For reference, laptops often come with between 0.5 and 2 TB of storage, while smartphones typically have a minimum of 128 GB or 256 GB.
Beyond the high storage capacity, the data encapsulated by the DNA band could be retained for a long time, the team said. This is because DNA strands are stored in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) – molecular-scale cages made of zinc ions – which provide a protective layer.
DNA is known to keep its shape for centuriesand researchers found that their tape could store data for more than 345 years at room temperature, or about 20,000 years at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). Even in the event of breakage, the DNA strip could be fixed using transparent adhesive tape, they specify in the study.
In addition to identifying and extracting DNA strands matching a specific file, the reader can encapsulate new DNA strands into MOFs and deposit them onto the tape. It can also autonomously detect when a DNA strand is in the wrong barcode section and move it to the correct one.
Even though the storage of DNA data has been explored widely over the yearsIt’s one of the first solutions to exhibit elegant “file system” behavior, meaning files can be retrieved, modified, or deleted. It also works robotically, instead of requiring a combination of manual and instrumental steps, and can handle “hot” (repeatedly accessed) data as well as “cold” (rarely accessed) data.
However, challenges remain. The actual synthesis of DNA remains expensive, time-consuming and requires bulky equipment. Additionally, the process of recovering a single file from the tape takes about 25 minutes. Therefore, in its current state, the DNA cassette player does not offer a feasible method for archiving our digital data.
That being said, the scientists hope their research could lead to technology capable of storing huge amounts of hot and cold data in a compact form, reducing reliance on the massive data centers in use today.
