DNA DATA STORAGE

Hello Viewers!!

I think most of you might have heard a famous quote "A theory must be tempered with reality". So, why don't we meet our need to store large amounts of data with the help of DNA? This is what our computer scientists thought and as a consequence of their idea, there emerged a wonderful concept of Storing Data in our DNA. Here, I am going to give a brief but clear idea about what, why and how DNA data storage is useful in today's world.

Let's put some basic questions to ourselves first:

•  Why is it necessary to find new techniques for data storage?
•  What is DNA?
•  Why DNA data storage?
•  What is DNA data storage?
•  How do we store data in DNA?
•  Styles of DNA data storage
•  Advantages and disadvantages
•  Applications
•  Conclusion

WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO FIND NEW TECHNIQUES FOR DATA STORAGE?

In the present world, data storage and access are of great importance. The voluminous information we have, may soon outstrip the ability of hard drives to capture it. Here is where DNA data storage comes into light. It enables us to store huge amounts of data in the strands of DNA.

WHAT IS DNA?

DNA(Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid) is a molecule that encodes genetic instructions and is well suited  for biological information storage. DNA molecules are double stranded helices. DNA contains a nucleic acid sequence which is a succession of letters A,G,T,C indicating the order of nucleotides in DNA where A,G,T,C stands for  Adenine, Guanine, Thymine and Cytosine respectively.

WHY DNA DATA STORAGE?

We use DNA as a storage medium because of its high data storage density & capacity, high memory space and can also withstand high environmental conditions. It is secure since it is invisible to human eye. It can store data for long periods of time because it protects from O2 and H2O(Oxygen & Water respectively).

WHAT IS DNA DATA STORAGE?

DNA data storage is a technology in which we use strands of DNA for storing & retrieving data. It is any process to store digital data in the base sequence of DNA. As DNA is a universal and fundamental data storage mechanism in biology, it stores every bit of datum ever recorded by humans using better store and retrieval techniques. For storage, it uses artificial DNA using commercially available Oligonucleotide synthesis machines and for retrieval, it uses DNA sequencing machines.

HOW DO WE STORE DATA IN DNA?

To store data in DNA, we have to encode it. Then, we represent it in a quaternary number system, followed by compression. The usual process will be as follows:

Encoding Table---Quaternary Number System---DNA Sequence---Compression

Encoding Techniques can be of different types like:
1. Huffman Code
2. Comma Code
3. Alternate Code
4. Perfect Genetic Code
5. Improved Huffman Code
6. Comma Free Code

Suppose, we are trying to store some information, say VVIT. First, we should use numbers to represent the letters in ASCII code. From the ASCII table, we have: V=86, I=73, T=84. Now, we change them to quaternary numbers i.e;          
 86=1112         73=1021         84=1110 

Now, we use "A,T,C,G" to represent the numbers 0,1,2,3 respectively.
VVIT = 1112 1112 1021 1110. Instead of synthesising one long string of DNA, we can code entire information by breaking it to smaller fragments. This A,C,G,T sequence avoids any reading errors. This method provides 100% accuracy.

STYLES OF DNA DATA STORAGE:

1. Surface based approach.
2. Soluble based approach.
3. Steganography technique using DNA hybridization.
4. Chromosomes DNA indexing.

ADVANTAGES:

1. DNA computing consumes significantly less energy than the electronic computers.
2. It’s ultra compact, and it can last hundreds of thousands of years if kept in a cool, dry place.
3. It won’t degrade over time like cassette tapes and CDs, and it won’t become obsolete.

DISADVANTAGES:

1.DNA needs to be sequenced to use it for data storage, which makes it a slow process.
2.Expensive.
3.Rewriting is not possible.
4.High equipped laboratories required.
5.Difficulty in understanding.

APPLICATIONS:

1. National security: for hiding purposes and stenography.
2. Preserves data at nuclear catastrophe.
Enhancements:Good bye silicon, hello DNA  the future of data storage device.
It can be used in:
1.DNA computing
2.DNA nanotechnology

CONCLUSION:

The longer you want to store information, the more attractive DNA becomes. The cost of synthesizing DNA is falling fast. Unlike other high-density approaches like manipulating individual atoms on a surface, new technologies can write and read large amounts of DNA at a time, allowing it to be scaled up. We can't get obsessed with the fact that it may not be practical today but if we strive hard, within 5-10 years you see that it is in the sweet spot. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you like this !!