In Switzerland, found a way to store information in the DNA of a million years.

A group of scientists from Zurich, Switzerland, has proposed a method for storing digital data in DNA, which, presumably, makes it possible to extract coded information even after a million years. To do this, the researchers placed molecular chains in quartz balls.

In recent years, several papers have already been done in the field of recording and subsequent reading of information from DNA molecules. However, as Robert Grass explains , one of the participants in the current project: “These approaches were unreliable, because they did not provide error correction, and did not offer methods for the long-term storage of molecules.”

In this work, scientists were able to synthesize DNA molecules on which information with redundancy was recorded using the Reed-Solomon method and incorporate these chains into a quartz ball. In addition to quartz, scientists also tested other methods for storing DNA; however, it was these balls that showed themselves the best. During the month, specimens were exposed to temperatures of 60-70 degrees and various humidity levels.
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After examining the state of the samples, the scientists roughly calculated that if they were stored at a permafrost temperature of -18 ° C (for example, in the World Seed Vault ), the information could well be read without loss even after a million years.