How Long Does It Last?

We can theoretically store up to two bits or two zeros or ones of data per DNA letter. And so the encoding scheme is actually very simple. So if you have a zero, zero, that becomes an A, zero, one becomes C, one, zero becomes G, and one, one becomes T. You have a text file at the end of this whole process with just sentences of A's, T's, C's, and G's. We send that text file to a synthesis company. In a matter of days, depending on the complexity of your DNA sequences, they'll send you back a tube with a sort of dried powder containing your DNA.