Scientists have invented a new way to store data inside DNA
Source:
The Future of technology lies not only in the constant growth of computing power of processors or the transition to quantum computers, but also in the evolution of storage devices. Humanity generates a huge amount of information, stored accounting for the traditional ways — on the HDD - and SSD-drives. Periodically scientists propose alternative methods of information storage, among which are very unusual. For example, is used as a storage device. Recently researchers Institute of Technology Waterford was proposed another way to implement this technology to life.
Experts suggest that by 2025 humanity will generate on average 160 zettabytes of data annually. Today, this amount of data equal to 16 zettabytes. Single zettabytes — that's 1021 bytes of data, so now you can roughly imagine the scale of the current situation. Today's existing storage solutions are not only ineffective, but also require significant energy costs, as well as large spaces to accommodate the necessary iron.
Irish researchers have proposed another way of storing data inside DNA. To date, several groups of scientists are trying to develop similar technologies with their own methods, but the specialists from the Institute of Technology Waterford approached the problem from an unusual perspective. They use to archive and record the data bacteria. This method allows you to keep 1 zettabytes of data just 1 gram of DNA.
"We see in the DNA of some semblance of a software cell containing a code that fully describes its functionality. That is why we can safely assume that DNA can be used to store our . Take information in digital form, will convert it into nucleotides and using the stored data" — says the project Manager Dr. Sasitharan, Balasubramaniam.
Currently this method is very expensive, but over time its cost will decrease to a reasonable bracket. Once it happened to familiar to us today as hard disks or solid state drives data. The technology, created by Irish scholars, uses plasmids (small DNA molecules physically separate from the genomic chromosomes and are capable of Autonomous replicated) for encoding and storing data inside strain Novablue E. coli is E Coli.
The Choice in favor of this strain was made largely due to the fact that it has a fixed position, ensuring data security. Data can be extracted using the process of conjugation and to carry from place to place by mobile HB101 strain of bacteria of the same E. coli. Control over the process, scientists carry out with the help of the antibiotics tetracycline and streptomycin. This method is not only costly, as we have noted above, but also quite slow. At the current time for search of necessary data required for up to three days real time. But scientists believe the process can be greatly speeded up, because already today there are methods of writing data to DNA in seconds.
Recommended
What will be the shelter for the first Martian colonists?
Mars is not the friendliest planet for humans While the Red Planet is roaming rovers, researchers are pondering the construction of shelters and materials needed by future Martian colonists. The authors of the new paper suggest that we could use one ...
New proof of string theory discovered
Just a few years ago, it seemed that string theory was the new theory of everything. But today the string universe raises more questions than answers String theory is designed to combine all our knowledge of the Universe and explain it. When she appe...
What is the four-dimensional space?
Modeling camera motion in four-dimensional space. View the world in different dimensions changes the way we perceive everything around, including time and space. Think about the difference between two dimensions and three dimensions is easy, but what...
Related News
Five amazing facts about our ancestors that we have learned from DNA
Not so long ago scientists used DNA of one of the oldest English skeletons (10,000 years) to find out how it looked the first inhabitants of Britain. However, ancient DNA of the skeleton is taken not for the first time and reveals...
Scientists got the "impossible" form of ice that can only exist on Uranus
a team of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National laboratory Lawrence had a unique form of ice, called superionic ice (superionic ice). The main feature of this ice is that it consists of a solid crystal lattice of oxygen atom...
Created superdivision, on the strength comparable to metal
Titanium alloys, perhaps, one of the most durable materials on our planet. But they have two very unpleasant drawback: they are very heavy and very expensive. Scientists from the University of Maryland (UMD) have invented an alter...
Graphene could solve five major problems of the world
In September 2015, world leaders gathered at the historic UN summit to adopt the goal of sustainable development (SDG). Seventeen of these ambitious goals and indicators will help guide and coordinate government and international ...
China successfully conducted a unique operation to restore the ears of children
a Group of five children in China got new ears, grown on the basis of a detailed three-dimensional models of healthy organs and using their own healthy cells. This is the first such case in the world of medicine. On the work done ...
What will happen to science in the near future?
If you go back 30 years ago, the world would be completely different. The only known planets were the planets of the Solar system. We had no idea what dark energy is. No space telescopes. Gravitational waves were an unproven theor...
Scientists close to creating artificial life forms
it would Seem that the creation of artificial life – the lot fiction. But development in this area being the first year. And the question now is not about artificial intelligence or robotic mechanisms. A group of American research...
Can genetics to make animals smarter?
advances in neural implants and genetic engineering suggest that in the near future we will be able to enhance human intelligence. For example. If we succeed, if we should take the brothers with you? The improvement of the human b...
Cosmetic company L'oreal grows human skin specifically for China
the Cosmetic industry in recent years stepped far forward, and to test new cosmetic products now use a specially grown human skin. But as you know, the skin of people of different nationalities at the micro level may be very diffe...
Robot scientist discovered a new drug
Development and testing of new drugs – employment is extremely long and labor-intensive. But, like everything in the modern world, this area of pharmacology is sometimes to "instruct" robots, because they can calculate all possibl...
Physicists accelerate beams of light in a curved space in the laboratory
Physicists have managed to demonstrate the acceleration of the light rays on flat surfaces when accelerating led to the fact that the rays follow curved trajectories. However, a new experiment has expanded the boundaries of what y...
Scientists have created a gamma ray burst in the laboratory
Gamma ray bursts, the powerful flashes of light — these are the brightest events in our Universe, which do not last longer than a few seconds or minutes. Some are so bright that they can be seen with the naked eye, like burs...
Physics of the Tomsk state University are developing levitation 3D printer
a New method for ultrasonic 3D printing has developed the physics of the Tomsk state University. Recently they have developed a setup for levitation of small particles that will be used as the basis for the levitation of a new 3D ...
Appeared in Dubai's first vertical farm
the world is not the first day is developing projects for the greening of cities and the establishment of so called «vertical farm», which will not only improve the ecological environment, but also significantly save spa...
10 scientific stories of 2017, which will seem fantastic
And now it is time to sit down, look back, take a deep breath and look at the headlines of scientific articles that we might otherwise miss. Scientists are constantly pleasing us with new developments in various fields. Nanotechno...
Six houses of the future which will protect you from climate change
Floods, droughts, hurricanes, forest fires, once rare weather events are becoming more common and powerful because of climate change. And it is impossible to deny. At the same time, more and more people move to cities around the w...
Glowing plants will illuminate the streets
On the streets of our cities we used to see a lot of plants that carry out, as a rule, purely decorative function. But what if all this flora it would be possible to give additional functions? For example, the day plants produce o...
Scientists from MIT created a tattoo from a living cell
Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT) invented a temporary "tattoo" consisting of a genetically engineered living cells. Their prototype is similar to a transparent sticker with a pattern resembling wood. Th...
Russia is working on a wheelchair controlled by gaze
High technology are designed not only to facilitate our lives, but also improve the quality of people with disabilities. Russian scientists on the basis of the research center "Kurchatov Institute" has developed a new wheelchair g...
How to make a trip back in time physically possible?
the Idea that we could go back in time to change the past, became one of the favorite techniques in movies, literature and television series. "Harry Potter", "Back to the future", "Groundhog Day" and many other movies promised us ...
Comments (0)
This article has no comment, be the first!