

We Can Stuff Zetabytes of Data into DNA (Someday)
Oct 3, 2024
00:00
Using DeoxyriboNucleic Acid or DNA for digital data storage is perhaps the most intriguing digital biology idea I have come across in a while. It sounds crazy but it can work. In 2020, Twist Biosciences collaborated with Netflix to encode the first episode of a recent TV show Biohackers into synthetic DNA. One 2020 study probed the theoretical storage limits and postulated a density of 17 exabytes per gram of DNA. And that DNA is sturdy. The molecules can last many years. We even mined it to bring back the dinosaurs! So the pitch is that we turn DNA into a super long-term, write-once-never-read form of cold storage. I love stuff like this. In this video, we explore a strange but feasible storage technology.
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