Storing digital images in DNA.

American scientists, in collaboration with a team of experts at Microsoft, have successfully developed a method for storing digital data in DNA sequences.

Binary data is stored in a double helix of DNA. Photo: Corbis.

According to Science Alert, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is one of the fundamental biological molecules, containing the genetic code of living organisms. Scientists are seeking to use DNA to store digital images and restore them intact.

If this technology is improved and scaled up, information stored in data centers the size of a supermarket will shrink to the size of a grain of sugar.

A research team from the University of Washington, USA, in collaboration with Microsoft engineers, encoded digital images into DNA sequences by converting the numbers 1 and 0 (computer binary code) into the four basic components of DNA: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). The research results were presented at the ACM International Conference on Supporting the Design of Programming Languages ​​and Operating Systems, held in Atlanta, Georgia from April 2nd to 6th.

Scientists used the Huffman encryption algorithm to compress data, then successfully recovered the stored information without errors.

"Life created an amazing molecule called DNA, which helps organisms efficiently store genetic information and how life works. DNA is very compact and durable. We are storing digital data (images, videos, documents) in DNA for use hundreds, even thousands of years from now," said Luis Ceze, a member of the research team.

Although initial research results are promising, scientists still have much work to do before the first DNA data center is established. Experiments so far have only been conducted on a small scale due to high costs and the need for advanced equipment.

According to VNE