DNA Storage A Promising Solution for Future Data Archiving
TapTechNews July 14th news, the Lithuanian genomics company Genomika, together with partners such as the Ultrasonic Research Institute of Kaunas University of Technology (KTUURI), is promoting a project called DNA Micro Data Autonomous Archiving Factory (DINAMIC), aiming to develop a new type of data storage device using DNA as the storage medium within three years. According to the news released by Kaunas University of Technology, the whole world is seeking a reliable, high-density, sustainable and cost-effective data storage solution.
The DINAMIC project has received funding from the European Commission's Innovation Council (EIC) Pioneer Program, which aims to help enterprises develop disruptive new technologies. Ignas Galminas, one of the founders of Genomika, said that DNA storage can not only solve the space problem, but also reduce the water consumption for cooling data centers, reduce the demand for rare earth metals used to make solid-state drives (SSD), and improve the reliability and long-term preservation ability of data archiving.
In 2023, the global total data volume reached an astonishing 120 zettabytes (TapTechNews note: Zettabyte, equivalent to 1.2 billion terabytes), enough to fill 150 million 8TB M.2 NVMe SSD. With the exponential growth of artificial intelligence data processing, it is expected that this number will also increase by more than 20% every year. This means that we urgently need to find a way to store all this data for a long time without turning the whole earth into a huge data center.
In such a global digital society, more and more data will be generated and used every year, said Professor Renaldas Raišutis, director of KTUURI, The traditional storage center consumes 1.5% of the global power and emits 200 million tons of carbon dioxide every year.
The DINAMIC project turns its attention to DNA, a biomolecule that contains the genetic instructions of life, hoping to solve the data storage problem. The project aims to build a new type of storage drive that uses the four bases of DNA (C, G, A, T) to replace the existing 0 and 1 storage methods.
One of the great advantages of DNA storage is that it can store a large amount of information in a very small space, which is much more compact than traditional digital storage media. In addition, DNA shows extremely high stability and reliability in long-term information storage, Professor Raišutis added.
Dr. Lukas Žemaitis, co-founder of Genomika, also said that DNA has evolved and optimized for billions of years and is inherently suitable for storing information. As humans enter the information age, we may be able to draw on the power of nature for our own use.
DNA data storage may be first applied in the medical field, as medical data needs to be stored and retrieved throughout the patient's life cycle. However, this technology has even greater potential. It can also help enterprises reduce power consumption and the cooling demand of data storage, thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions.
It should be noted that the three-year R & D time is only an estimate, and unexpected obstacles may be encountered in the process of project promotion.