A strand DNA can store upto 2.2 petabytes of data

Researchers from the European Bioinformatics institute were able to encode 154 Shakespeare sonnets and Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech in a single strand of DNA. This came to a total of 739KB but the researchers are confident that it can hold 2.2 petabytes of information.

It is also noted in a report that DNA has a capacity for high-density storage for information, as well as encoding and the ability to preserve data for a very long time.

The procedure however is expensive. A DNA manipulation method to hold per GB of data costs around $12,400 per MB. We’ll have to wait till this becomes feasible. They’ve also noted that embedding information on a strand of DNA takes a lot more time than it needs to be calculated in months rather than seconds.

Via: Gizmodo