A DNA strand’s data storage capacity is mind-boggling – 215 million GB of data can be stored in just one gram of DNA. To illustrate, the extreme density of DNA storage is enough to save the entirety of the accessible internet (approximately 700 billion GB) in a shoebox! The prospect of tapping into this mode of data storage in technology has motivated scientists to develop a system called DORIS, which is the closes thing to the natural version yet.
A North Carolina State University (NCSU) research team has made a breakthrough in overcoming some previously inhibiting barriers in the technology. For example, temperature issues.
Albert Keung, the co-corresponding author of the study, explained:
Most of the existing DNA data storage systems rely on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to access stored files, which is very efficient at copying information but presents some significant challenges. We’ve developed a system called Dynamic Operations and Reusable Information Storage, or DORIS, that doesn’t rely on PCR. That has helped us address some of the key obstacles facing the practical implementation of DNA data storage technologies.
Meaning, DORIS can read and write files at room temperature without harming the DNA.
How It Works
- Information is encoded in DNA strands.
- The strands swim freely in a “genetic soup.”
- The primer-binding sequences are attached to the ends of the DNA strands. They act like file names.
- When the file is searched for, PCR locates the right primer-binding sequence in the soup, and the information in the attached DNA is retrieved and copied.
DORIS is different because its primer-binding sequences are made up of a single-stranded tail of DNA that hangs off the end. Like this, the system can find and retrieve files without needing to rip open the data-encoded DNA strands. Previous versions of such a system had primer-binding sequences made of a double-strand tail that had to be ripped open to access the data, which is what caused the high-temperature problems.
Not only does DORIS eliminate the overheating problem, but its overhanging sequences can also be modified on-demand, meaning users can delete, rename, and lock files.
Keung said:
We’ve developed a functional prototype of DORIS, so we know it works. We’re now interested in scaling it up, speeding it up, and putting it into a device that automates the process – making it user friendly.
The researchers are currently working on making the system even more useful.
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