Microsoft Experimenting With DNA Data Storage

Microsoft Experiments with DNA Storage: 1,000,000,000 TB in a Gram

Reading and writing are a bit of a chore, but it keeps data safe for thousands of years.

Peter Bright | April 27, 2016

Microsoft is buying ten million strands of DNA from biology startup Twist Bioscience to investigate the use of genetic material to store data.
The data density of DNA is orders of magnitude higher than conventional storage systems, with 1 gram of DNA able to represent close to 1 billion terabytes (1 zettabyte) of data. DNA is also remarkably robust; DNA fragments thousands of years old have been successfully sequenced.
These properties make it an intriguing option for long-term data archiving. Binary data has already been successfully stored as DNA base pairs, with estimates in 2013 suggesting that it would be economically viable for storage of 500 years or more.

"DNA: The Ultimate Storage Device." Source: http://ldsmag.com/article-1-12179/

<more at http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/04/microsoft-experiments-with-dna-storage-1000000000-tb-in-a-gram/; related articles and links: https://www.twistbioscience.com/press/twist-bioscience-announces-microsoft-purchase-of-its-synthetic-dna-for-digital-data-storage-research/ (Twist Bioscience Announces Microsoft Purchase of its Synthetic DNA for Digital Data Storage Research. April 27, 2016) and http://www.informationweek.com/it-life/microsoft-is-exploring-dna-data-storage/d/d-id/1325338 (Microsoft Is Exploring DNA Data Storage. Microsoft is working with Twist Bioscience, a company that encodes data onto microscopic and long-lasting synthetic DNA. April 30, 2016)>