ProjectData storage: the promises of synthetic DNA

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The European OligoArchive project is working to establish proofs of concept for data storage in the form of collections of short synthetic DNA sequences. DNA represents a theoretically unparalleled storage medium in terms of information density and longevity. The project aims to overcome certain remaining technical limitations, largely related to the significant cost of sequence production.

This work echoes the explosion of data linked to the development of the Internet and mobile telephony. The total amount of data stored is expected to be two million billion billion billion bits by 2025. All of this data would fit into the equivalent of twenty-three stacks of Blu-ray discs stretching from the Earth's surface to the moon. This situation is forcing Internet giants to increase the number of data centers, more and more often located in cold areas because of their gigantic cooling needs. In the quest for more suitable storage systems, DNA has interesting advantages: a single gram of DNA can contain up to 455 exabits of information, or 455 billion billion bits. All the data in the world would then fit in a shoebox. Its storage away from oxygen and water allows conservation for several thousand years at room temperature, which makes it a more stable means of storage than digital storage on tapes.

The challenge taken up by the European OligoArchive project consists of creating DNA sequences capable of containing, on average, even more digital data for the same number of nucleotides, which will make it possible to reduce synthesis costs and automatically correct errors. during sequencing, and to implement simple means of reading and rereading the information.