DATA STORAGE IN BACTERIA : ASTONISHING-MUST READ

1. I had read about this about 2 months back but could not get any thing rock solid about what is the concept like actually?Although still not much detail is available,the crux from various sites is reproduced below for one to just imbibe the idea.

2. Artificial DNA with encoded information can be added to the genome of common bacteria, thus preserving the data. The technique was developed at Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences and Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus. So now what would happen to those USB flash memory "thumbdrives" which is claimed as being small!!

3. The technology aims at the succesful development of a DNA memory utilizing living organisms. The researchers proposed a method to copy and paste data within the genomic sequence of a living organism, Bacillus subtilis. Since microbs such as the Bacillus subtilis are very small and they keep gene information for generations, they can be applied for extremely smaller-size, larger-volume memory media that can store data for a longer period of time, compared to electronic or magnetic media including CD-ROM, flash memoryand hard disc.

4. According to researchers, up to 100 bits of data can be attached to each organism. Scientists successfully encoded and attached the phrase "e=mc2 1905" to the DNA of BACILLUS SUBTILIS, a common soil bacteria.The Bacillus itself creates new copies of the data every time it reproduces itself, thus making it an ideal archival storage system.

5. While the technology would most likely first be used to track medication, it could also be used to store text and images for many millennia, thwarting the longevity issues associated with today's disk and tape storage systems -- which only store data for up to 100 years in most cases.It is also claimed by the inventor that unlike optical/magnetic storage, data would be safe for thousands of years!!!

6. However, DNA sequences gradually change as their generations advance and that has been a hurdle in the research of biotic memory media. Changes in the DNA arrangements would make recovery of the stored data impossible, provided that no error correction techniques found at magnetic or optical storage media is available. The research group said its latest development indicated a possible resolution for this problem.

7. The technology proposes a method to copy and paste data within the genomic sequence of a living organism, Bacillus subtilis, thus acquiring versatile data storage and the robustness of data inheritance. Two or more different DNA molecules which carry the encoded data were duplicated into multiple genomic areas for data storage. The encoded data is then retrievable by complete genome sequencing and searching for duplicated coding regions using multiple alignments of all the possible decoded bit-data sequences of the genomic DNA. Therefore, even if the recorded information is partly destroyed, the original correct information can be restored.

8. Thanks http://www.technovelgy.com