- By Susanne Posel – February 18, 2015
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biometrics, transhumanism
Susanne Posel ,Chief Editor Occupy Corporatism | The US IndependentFebruary 18, 2015
Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) have devised a way to use a “form of DNA” to store information with a new method that promises to address “a number of the problems associated with using DNA as data storage”.
Current technology does not preclude errors in data retrieval; as well as “gaps and false information in the encoded data result[ing] from chemical degradation and mistakes in DNA sequencing.”
The team overcame the issue of “chemical degradation of the DNA by encapsulating the genetic material in silica (glass) spheres with diameters of around 150 nanometers.”
Retrieving information encoded to DNA has produced compromised data. The researchers devised methods using the Reed-Solomon Codes in order to self-correct “to ensure accurate data recovery after long-distance data transmission.”
With current technology, DNA is assumed to be able to store up to 455 exabytes of data.
Robert Grass, lead author of the study, explained that his endeavor was purposed to “protect the information bearing DNA with a synthetic shell” that would protect the data which became the silica sphere that were no bigger than 150-nanometers wide.
Three years ago, a team of bioengineers and geneticists from Harvard University Wyss Institute (HUWI) were able to “cram” 5.5 petabytes (or 700 terabytes) of data into a single gram of DNA.
To “read” the information stored onto the DNA, researchers simply sequenced the human genome and converted “each of the TGAC bases back into binary” code.
Using human DNA for data storage has been attractive to scientists because:
• Storage capacity is dense
• Potential is volumetric instead of planar
• Amazingly stable and survive for hundreds of thousands
In 2013, the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) set out to solely use human DNA for data storage to ensure that data is not lost to time. In the recent past, magnetic tape has been used and proven to deteriorate over time.
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