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Scientists can now archive digital files inside the same molecule that stores genetic information, packing data into an incredibly tiny space.

What molecule is used?

DNA
DNA data storage encodes the 0s and 1s of files into the chemical bases of synthetic DNA, which can hold enormous amounts of information in a microscopic volume and last for thousands of years if kept cool and dry.

DNA is the molecule used for this kind of data storage. Because DNA is built from a sequence of just four chemical bases, researchers translate the 0s and 1s of a digital file into a corresponding sequence of bases and have it chemically synthesized as strands of DNA, later sequenced to read the data back out. The appeal is density: a vanishingly small volume of DNA can hold an enormous quantity of information.

Graphene is valued in electronics for its conductivity and strength, not for encoding data through a genetic-style alphabet, and silicon is the backbone of ordinary chips and hard drives rather than a biological storage medium.

DNA has a remarkable advantage for archiving: kept cool, dry, and dark, it can remain chemically stable and readable for extremely long stretches of time, part of why researchers see it as a candidate for storing records far into the future.

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