https://newatlas.com/technology/artificial-amber-dna-data-storage/
"DNA is a much denser data storage medium than anything humans can design, but
the problem is that it’s fragile. So now scientists have taken another page out
of nature’s book and created artificial amber to protect data stored in DNA
longer term.
As with so many things, our data storage methods pale in comparison to the one
nature concocted. A single gram of DNA can hold up to 215 petabytes (215
million GB) of data, which means you could essentially store the entire
internet in a shoebox. It’s no surprise then that scientists have been
experimenting with how to write data to DNA, read it back, and importantly,
keep it safe while it’s on there.
Now, scientists at MIT have created a kind of artificial amber that can protect
DNA for long periods of time, and easily gives up its data when needed. The
material is called a thermoset, which means it’s made up of polymers that
become a glassy solid when heated, but can also be degraded on demand when
exposed to certain chemicals.
The specific mix of monomers used is designed to pull DNA into spherical
complexes in the center, with a water-repelling layer on the outside. That’s
important, because moisture can damage DNA. Then the mixture is heated to set
it into a glass-like block, with the data-laden DNA preserved inside.
When it’s time to read that data back, the material is exposed to a molecule
called cysteamine, which breaks down the bonds holding the thermoset together.
Once it’s in small pieces, a detergent called SDS is added to separate the DNA
without damaging it. In a classically clumsy reverse-engineered acronym, they
call their technique Thermoset-REinforced Xeropreservation (T-REX)."
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/dawn-solar-age-same-sex-thailand-nature-europe/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
