Data-storage for eternity, stored in the form of DNA

How can we preserve our knowledge today for the next millennia? Researchers have found a way to store information in the form of DNA, presumably preserving it for nearly an eternity. 

Scrolls thousands of years old provide us with a glimpse into long-forgotten cultures and the knowledge of our ancestors. In this digital era, in contrast, a large part of our knowledge is located on servers and hard drives.

It will be a challenge for this data to survive 50 years, let alone thousands of years. Researchers are therefore searching for new ways to store large volumes of data over the long term. Particular attention is being paid to a storage medium found in nature: the genetic material DNA.

DNA lends itself to this task as it can store large amounts of information in a compact manner. Unfortunately, the data is not always retrievable error-free: gaps and false information in the encoded data arise through chemical degradation and mistakes in DNA sequencing.

Now researchers led by Robert Grass, a lecturer at ETH Zurich's Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, have revealed how the long-term, error-free storage of information can be achieved, potentially for more than a million years. First, they encapsulate the information-bearing segments of DNA in silica (glass) and second, they use an algorithm in order to correct mistakes in the data.

Over the longer term, DNA can change significantly as it reacts chemically with the environment, thus presenting an obstacle to long-term storage. However, genetic material found in fossilised bones several hundreds of thousands of years old can be isolated and analysed as it has been encapsulated and protected. "Similar to these bones, we wanted to protect the information-bearing DNA with a synthetic 'fossil' shell," explains Grass.