Using pegs and pegboards made out of DNA and retrieving the data with a microscope a molecular version of the Lite-Brite toy – researchers have developed a way to store data for centuries at a density of 330 gigabits per square centimeter.
The big idea
We and our colleagues have developed a way to store data using pegs and pegboards made out of DNA and retrieving the data with a microscope – a molecular version of the Lite-Brite toy. Our prototype stores information in patterns using DNA strands spaced about 10 nanometers apart. Ten nanometers is more than a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair and about 100 times smaller than the diameter of a bacterium.
We tested our digital nucleic acid memory (dNAM) by storing the statement “Data is in our DNA!\n.” We described the research in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications on April 22, 2021.
Dr. William L. Hughes is a Professor of the Micron School of Materials Science & Engineering and the Director of the Nucleic Acid Memory Institute at Boise State University. He also serves as a Senior Faculty Fellow of the Institute for Inclusive and Transformative Scholarship and a Fellow of the College of Innovation + Design at Boise State. His research team designs, builds, and tests materials, memory, and machines made from DNA.
Experience