A much faster way to encode DNA with usable digital data
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An international team of molecular biologists, computer scientists and physicists has found a way to encode useable digital data onto DNA strands 350 times faster than current approaches. In their study, published in the journal Nature, the group used epigenetic modification of DNA to create their speedy data storage medium. They believe their process could open new avenues of research toward the development of real-world data storage using biomolecular systems.
Carina Imburgia and Jeff Nivala with the University of Washington have published a News and Views piece in the same journal issue, outlining how data can be stored on DNA strands and the work done by the team.
DNA is in essence, a storage medium—a single strand of human DNA, researchers estimate, could hold up to 215,000 terabytes of data. Research teams have been looking into ways to use it as a real-world digital storage medium.
For now, there are two major hurdles to overcome before DNA can be used to hold massive amounts of digital data. The first is cost. Researchers have assumed thus far that the only practical way to use DNA as a storage medium is to synthesize it in factories, which has been found to be too costly, at least for now.
The other problem is the slow speed involved in encoding data onto DNA strands. In this new study, the research team found a way to overcome both problems by using a natural approach that can speed up data encoding by about 350 times—enough for practical applications.
The new approach is synthesis free and is based on selective methylation of bases in a general DNA template as a means to encode data. The result is what the team describes as epi-bits, an analog of the type of bits used by conventional digital computers.
In this case, a 1 or a 0 is represented by a base being methylated or not. Testing shows it capable of writing data at 350 bits/reaction, a vast improvement over the single bit per reaction of prior approaches using synthesized DNA.
More information: Cheng Zhang et al, Parallel molecular data storage by printing epigenetic bits on DNA, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08040-5
Carina Imburgia et al, 'Do-it-yourself' data storage on DNA paves way to simple archiving system, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/d41586-024-03312-6
Journal information: Nature
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