The preservation of information is increasingly crucial: this is why companies like Microsoft are studying the "hard disks" of the future.
Among the most promising research is that which focuses on a truly exceptional "physical memory": DNA.
Our DNA is a medium that stores data about us: on an IT level its "performance" is extraordinary.
Like Hard Disk, DNA does not degrade over time. It is so versatile that it contains in just 4 grams all the information produced in an entire year by all of humanity.
In recent years several experiments have already produced DNA bailouts: the largest? 700k.
The latest study published by researchers Yaniv Erlich and Dina Zielinski tells of the largest "rescue" in history.
The two researchers used 72.000 strands of DNA and saved 6 files inside. A French film, an Amazon gift card, an entire operating system, a computer virus, a clinical study and the information placed on the Pioneer probe.
“The most interesting thing was not synthesizing the nucleotides that we used to store the files,” says Erlich, “but rather developing the software capable of 'encoding' the information and making it available both in and out.” No software errors: the files can be read safely.
As a hard drive, DNA would be the best possible option.
There are many great advantages: first of all the dimensions (you can imagine). DNA can contain 215 Petabytes per gram and last over 100 years, destroying any obsolescence limit.
DNA has been around for 3 billion years: hard to think that this physical memory (it is appropriate to say it) soon goes out of style.
How soon will it be possible to see this technology in action?
According to the researchers, it will take more than 10 years, "but," says one of them, "even the CD had a similar development phase before being introduced on the market."
The Sciencemag Study: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6328/950
