DNA as a digital database. Something that affects us all!

摘要

There are currently several major limitations to storing digital data. First, contemporary digital media have a limited lifespan and, second, these media are stored in huge data centers that consume huge amounts of electricity. We are simply unable to store all the data that is currently produced, data which is being accumulated exponentially. The use of DNA to store information is a recent technological development, which, with a series of necessary improvements, may present a long-term solution (several tens of thousands of years at room temperature under suitable conditions), as DNA is extremely compact and consumes no energy. In theory, the 47 zettabytes of data produced in the world in 2020 could be stored in a mass of DNA equivalent to a small bar of chocolate.