Your entire building plan is described in a few dozen molecules with only four different DNA letters. This gives nature a super-efficient data center. Can we fake that? Thanks to a breakthrough in the research of Tom Greef we are a big step closer to a DNA data center, in which we can store files for millennia.
Why is a DNA data center now approaching?
‘Until now, only one DNA file could be read at a time. Every time you read such a file, part of the data was also lost due to reading errors. Thanks to the new method we have developed, we can read multiple DNA files at the same time, without data loss. We also gave each file a fluorescent label with a specific colour, creating a kind of search system.’
When will the first DNA data center open?
‘Creating synthetic DNA is currently too expensive to be more attractive than traditional data storage. The price of a DNA file should be about a thousand to ten thousand times lower. But DNA synthesis has been falling exponentially in price for some time now. I am hopeful that we can expect DNA data centers around 2030.’
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Does DNA storage work better than digital storage?
‘The information density of DNA is much higher than the best that digital storage has to offer. DNA molecules are very small. As a result, you need much less physical space to store your data. In the lab, researchers have already made DNA with an extra set of base pairs, in addition to the biological AT and CG, making the information density even higher. You also don’t have to copy DNA files every few years, as is the case with magnetic tape. That is currently the standard way of storing archive data, but it has to be replaced every ten to thirty years.’
Will we ever get a hard drive made of DNA?
‘You will never be able to replace the hard drive in your laptop with DNA, unfortunately. The readout speed is too low for that. This form of storage is particularly suitable for preserving archive documents: information that should not be lost, but which we do not look at very often. Then a somewhat slower readout speed doesn’t matter that much anymore.’
Is a DNA data center also better for the environment?
‘Of course. Once your DNA file is synthesized, you don’t need to put any energy into it. Reading DNA files does cost energy. You have to start a so-called PCR reaction, and for that the temperature has to be raised to 94 degrees Celsius. For best results, you also need to store DNA in a stable environment. But all that is nothing compared to the amount of energy and water it takes to keep a traditional data center cool. Moreover, scientists can already read DNA from tens of thousands of years old. That has not been in a room with air conditioning all that time. If we manage to keep the synthetic DNA stable for a little longer, it will remain in good condition for more than a thousand years.’
What message do you want to store in DNA for humanity in a thousand years?
‘“Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved”from the author of Winnie the Pooh, Alan Alexander Milne.’