DNA Storage:
The Internet in a Shoebox
We generate 328.77 million terabytes of data per day. We are running out of silicon. Nature solved this storage problem 4 billion years ago.
The Data Apocalypse
Data centers consume 3% of the world's electricity. We can't keep building them.
Traditional Storage
- Short Lifespan: HDDs last 5 years. Tape lasts 30. You have to constantly migrate data.
- Low Density: Needs acres of land for server farms and massive cooling systems.
DNA Storage
- Eternal: DNA found in fossils is readable after thousands of years. No migration needed.
- Insane Density: All the data in the world (estimated 175 Zettabytes) could fit in a single shoebox.
How It Works: Bits to Base Pairs
1. Encoding
Digital binary data (0s and 1s) is translated into the four nucleic acid bases of DNA: Adenine (A), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G), and Thymine (T).
00 → A, 01 → C, 10 → G, 11 → T
2. Synthesis (Write)
Companies like Twist Bioscience use silicon chips to chemically synthesize these custom DNA strands. This is currently the slow/expensive part.
3. Storage
The DNA is dried and put into a cold, dark vial. It uses zero energy to maintain the data.
4. Sequencing (Read)
To read the data back, a gene sequencing machine (like those used in hospitals) reads the A, C, G, T order and converts it back to 0s and 1s.
The Cost Barrier:
Carlson Curves
Just as Moore's Law predicted silicon growth, comparisons show DNA synthesis costs are dropping exponentially.
*Current writing cost is still ~$1,000 per MB. Target for commercial viability is $1 per TB.
Real World Projects
- Microsoft Project Silica
Stored the 1978 'Superman' movie on a piece of quartz glass (similar principles) for Warner Bros.
- #MemoriesInDNA
University of Washington stored 10,000 photos, books, and songs in synthetic DNA.
- Arch Mission Foundation
Sent a DNA library of Wikipedia to the Moon on the Beresheet lander.
The Greenest Data Center
A typical Exabyte data center consumes as much power as a small city. A DNA archive consumes zero electricity once the data is written. It sits in the dark, cold, and stable.
Back Up Humanity
Project Silica by Microsoft is already preserving movies and books on glass and DNA.
View Project Silica