DNA Storage

Fact: DNA is the World’s Best Digital Storage Media

Although the rudiments of storing digital media in DNA have been around since the 1980s, it was only last year that Harvard researchers truly cracked the code. They were able to store 700 terabytes of data on a single gram of DNA. 700 terabytes is the equivalent of some 330lbs worth of hard drives, all in a liquid medium that could easily fit on a fingertip. With current technology, the sequencing of the DNA to retrieve the information takes hours and is extremely costly, so the practicality of this form of storage is limited, but it is truly amazing to think the whole of human knowledge and creation could be stored in a space no larger than your closet.