Using DNA to store Exabytes of data

Published on July 25, 2015 By DrJBHL In Personal Computing

An Exabyte of data is 1000⁶bytes of data (EB), or in binary (exbibyte) 1024⁶kibibytes (KB). Another way of looking at it is 1 EB = 1000⁶bytes = 10¹⁸bytes = 1000000000000000000B = 1000 petabytes =1million terabytes = 1billion gigabytes. That’s a good deal of data.

Using the base pairs A-T and G-C as 0s and 1s, one gram of DNA can store approximately 450 Exabyte of data. That would be equal to roughly some billion gigabytes.

Theoretically, in a shielded and sterile environment, the storage of data would pretty much cease to be a major problem for institutions which have vast amounts of data to store. After all, fossil DNA (mammoths and others) has stored data for extremely long periods.

The article I read came up with the figure $1,500 per Exabyte of data. In fact, data was stored on DNA 5.5 Petabytes of it (700 terabytes) back in 2012 at Harvard.

So…using this method, we really could end up with “Mammoth” hard disks.

Sources:

http://hms.harvard.edu/news/writing-book-dna-8-16-12

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/134672-harvard-cracks-dna-storage-crams-700-terabytes-of-data-into-a-single-gram

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_digital_data_storage

Comments

Heavenfall

on Jul 25, 2015

After the apocalypse, the future post-humans will break open the vaults of ancient humans and discover the DNA of some of the strangest creatures they've ever seen.

alaknebs

on Jul 27, 2015

your keyword is "store"... not "retrieve" in any sort of reasonable speed or "search".

someone will open up the vault and find a whole load of dust thinking whatever it was has crumbled

admiralWillyWilber

on Jul 27, 2015

Microsoft will try to get is to run apps I mean mini programs on this cause that's. How they roll. Let's. Not forget they will use this to dummy down computers. Why have a better hard drive when they are trying to restrict us from using any resources unless we pay a bundle of money as long as we don't. Figure it out ourselves.

starkers

on Jul 27, 2015

Well of course DNA is the next step. My DNA contains exabytes of data and so does yours and everybody else's.... not that I'll be consenting to any of my DNA/data being stored on the 'Cloud'

Apart from not wanting folks scutinising it to discover what makes me tick, I don't do heights.

ElanaAhova

on Jul 31, 2015

DNA storing 'lots of' data, now I understand what all the green skinned aliens have been doing with all their abductions in those flying saucers; and, err, probing.

DARCA1213

on Jul 31, 2015

How exactly does the dna end up working with the rest of the computer and reacting to what it is requesting? And DNA does not change very well. And why was the same data repeated so many times!?!?

starkers

on Aug 01, 2015

ElanaAhova

reply 5

DNA storing 'lots of' data, now I understand what all the green skinned aliens have been doing with all their abductions in those flying saucers;

Yeah, the sneaky buggers have been storing data on the human race for centuries in strands of human DNA.... which is possibly why some abductees came back minus foreskins.

As for the probes... that's why Vaseline was invented. Sadly, not all abductees had it on their person at the time.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!