The engineering of DNA for the long-term storage of digital information
Abstract
The long term preservation of the vast amounts of information our modern world creates is an emerging problem. As (bio)chemical engineers we see DNA as a possibility of preserving large amounts of information: about 750 megabytes of genetic information are stored in every cell of our body and theoretically one gram of DNA could store > 300'000 terabytes of information.[1] Furthermore, it is known from archeology studies that if well preserved, DNA can endure for several hundred thousand years.[2]
Within this presentation we will show how we can use modern chemical and information engineering tools for the safeguarding of actual digital information in the form of DNA. For this we have combined the information theory concept of forward error correction with the chemical tool of DNA encapsulation.[3,4] In a first experimental validation of the idea 83kB of digital information were encoded by a Reed-Solomon error correction code and translated to DNA sequences (4991 sequences each 117bp long). The DNA sequences were synthesized by a microarray technology and encapsulated into a silica matrix. This encapsulation resulted in very low DNA degradation rates, which were measured by accelerated aging experiments in various atmospheres. Following a simulated 2'000 year room temperature storage of the DNA the digital information could be recovered without error by the aid of the error correction capabilities introduced during the coding. Aside of giving an insight into the state of the art of information preservation in DNA we will also discuss future challenges and needs of digital data preservation in the form of chemical information.
[1] Church et al. Science 2012, 337, 6102.
[2] Meyer et al. Nature 2014, 505, 403.
[3] Paunescu et al. Nat. Protoc. 2013, 8, 2440.
[4] Grass et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 2552.
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This research was presented at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) on Aug. 17, 2015.
Esta pesquisa foi apresentada na 250o. Encontro e Exposição Naacional da Sociedade Americana da Química (ACS) no dia 17 de agosto de 2015.
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PERGUNTA DESTE BLOGGER:
Mero acaso? Fortuita necessidade? Ou 100% Design Inteligente???
Ah, a TDI ao considerar a informação complexa especificada (William Dembski) encontrada no DNA como sendo um dos sinais de inteligência empiricamente detectados na natureza, também é uma teoria de informação...
Ah, a TDI ao considerar a informação complexa especificada (William Dembski) encontrada no DNA como sendo um dos sinais de inteligência empiricamente detectados na natureza, também é uma teoria de informação...
David Baltimore, biólogo molecular americano (prêmio Nobel em 1975, juntamente com Renato Dulbecco e Howard Martin Temin, pelas descobertas da interação entre os vírus de tumores e o material genético da célula) afirmou:
