Biological developments made in computer memory

Society generates huge amounts of data every single day, and even with enormous technological advancements, the world is struggling to keep up with demand for more and more storage. The digitisation of ancient scrolls, books and human history add to the ever-growing stream of information created and stored on a daily basis. So it’s no wonder that pioneering companies are looking at new ways to increase storage capacities in order to ensure this data can be kept safely and securely without the need for millions of hard drives and excessive cloud storage.

Justin Briere, Senior Account Manager at Data Memory Systems said, “Microsoft is one of the industry’s leaders, so it comes as no surprise to us that they are investing time and money into developing something truly groundbreaking. Signaling what could be a game changer for the industry, if all goes to plan, we could see the new DNA developments in as little as two or three years.”

Keeping data safe and secure for thousands of years, the new developments would provide the ultimate storage solution. Just like computers, DNA molecules encode information into discrete units. DNA has been proven to be readable after thousands of years, and unlike current electronic storage systems which require dedicated and specialised maintenance and take up huge amounts of space, they are extremely compact. The new research and developments therefore mean that, potentially, all the data that exists in present day could be stored in less than 20grams of DNA.