Microsoft has been working on making it possible to store data on strands of DNA and the company’s computer architects have now revealed that they will be able to have operational DNA storage in a few years. Microsoft is aiming to have an operational storage system using DNA inside a data center by 2020, this according to a report in the MIT Technology Review.
Operational DNA storage will be the next step in ensuring the longevity of data for a data-driven generation. Conventional drives in data centers are able to store data for a few decades but as more and more data is generated with each passing day, more forward-thinking solutions are required.
Microsoft’s computer architects have been trying to come up with ways to fix this problem. They have now been considering biological material such as DNA for backing up countless terabytes of digital information.
Scientists have previously been able to record 215 million GB of data on a single gram of DNA by using strings of nucleic acid to cram information into living cells.
However, the materials required to take on a similar exercise even half this size will require considerable investment. So the costs have to come down quite a bit for this to become a financially viable storage option.
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