Uploaded October 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Could the future of data storage be DNA? It’s the original format after all, storing the information needed to build every living thing. and it has a handful of qualities that would make it perfect to store all the digital information in our world. With recent advances in DNA sequencing and DNA printing, it’s technically possible. But there are a few obstacles to overcome before this sci-fi sounding tech can become a household reality.
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Credits:
Executive Producer:
Matthew Radcliff
Producers:
Elaine Seward
Andrew Sobey
Darren Weaver
Host:
Alex Dainis
Scientific Consultants:
Mark Bathe, PhD
Karin Strauss, PhD
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2022 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
Additional Sources:
lewisdgavin.medium.com/googles-data-footprint-will-blow-your-mind-2237cf8e0d4#:~:text=200%20Petabytes%20of%20data%20per,Search%20is%20handling%20per%20day.
genengnews.com/topics/omics/dna/could-we-store-all-of-the-worlds-data-in-a-coffee-mug-full-of-dna
brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/ancient-dna-found-in-soil-samples-reveals-mammoths-yukon-wild-horses-survived-thousands-of-years-longer-than-believed
phys.org/news/2017-03-short-movie-dna.html
twistbioscience.com/blog/perspectives/dna-data-storage-setting-data-density-record-dna-fountain
twistbioscience.com/blog/science/simple-guide-phosphoramidite-chemistry-and-how-it-fits-twist-biosciences-commercial#:~:text=Phosphoramidite%20chemistry%20is%20the%20gold,200%20base%20pairs%20in%20length.
accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2355§ionid=185844443#:~:text=Nucleosides%20have%20a%20nitrogenous%20base,in%20ribonucleic%20acid%20or%20RNA.
nature.com/scitable/definition/phosphate-backbone-273
twistbioscience.com/blog/science/simple-guide-phosphoramidite-chemistry-and-how-it-fits-twist-biosciences-commercial#:~:text=Phosphoramidite%20chemistry%20is%20the%20gold,200%20base%20pairs%20in%20length.
twistbioscience.com/blog/science/simple-guide-phosphoramidite-chemistry-and-how-it-fits-twist-biosciences-commercial#:~:text=Phosphoramidite%20chemistry%20is%20the%20gold,200%20base%20pairs%20in%20length.
genengnews.com/topics/omics/dna/could-we-store-all-of-the-worlds-data-in-a-coffee-mug-full-of-dna
nature.com/articles/s41563-021-01021-3
genengnews.com/topics/omics/dna/could-we-store-all-of-the-worlds-data-in-a-coffee-mug-full-of-dna
genengnews.com/topics/omics/dna/could-we-store-all-of-the-worlds-data-in-a-coffee-mug-full-of-dna
nature.com/articles/s41587-020-0695-9
cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/dna/Enzymatic-DNA-synthesis-significant-new/100/i3
dnastoragealliance.org/why
Could the future of data storage be DNA? It’s the original format after all, storing the information needed to build every living thing. and it has a handful of qualities that would make it perfect to store all the digital information in our world. With recent advances in DNA sequencing and DNA printing, it’s technically possible. But there are a few obstacles to overcome before this sci-fi sounding tech can become a household reality.
You might also like other Reactions videos:
Can Science Replace Blood Transfusions?
youtu.be/Uy8p_Yzpe6o
But Could CBD Make You Fail a Drug Test?
youtu.be/BzmZ_sb5dZk
How Quinine Fights Malaria, and How That Caused* World War One
youtu.be/wnvo53xUxP4
Death and Decomposition
youtu.be/OBWnPo9UufE
Why is Carbon the Key to Life? (On Earth, Anyway)
youtu.be/VUiDwrM2YPI
Credits:
Executive Producer:
Matthew Radcliff
Producers:
Elaine Seward
Andrew Sobey
Darren Weaver
Host:
Alex Dainis
Scientific Consultants:
Mark Bathe, PhD
Karin Strauss, PhD
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2022 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
Additional Sources:
lewisdgavin.medium.com/googles-data-footprint-will-blow-your-mind-2237cf8e0d4#:~:text=200%20Petabytes%20of%20data%20per,Search%20is%20handling%20per%20day.
genengnews.com/topics/omics/dna/could-we-store-all-of-the-worlds-data-in-a-coffee-mug-full-of-dna
brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/ancient-dna-found-in-soil-samples-reveals-mammoths-yukon-wild-horses-survived-thousands-of-years-longer-than-believed
phys.org/news/2017-03-short-movie-dna.html
twistbioscience.com/blog/perspectives/dna-data-storage-setting-data-density-record-dna-fountain
twistbioscience.com/blog/science/simple-guide-phosphoramidite-chemistry-and-how-it-fits-twist-biosciences-commercial#:~:text=Phosphoramidite%20chemistry%20is%20the%20gold,200%20base%20pairs%20in%20length.
accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2355§ionid=185844443#:~:text=Nucleosides%20have%20a%20nitrogenous%20base,in%20ribonucleic%20acid%20or%20RNA.
nature.com/scitable/definition/phosphate-backbone-273
twistbioscience.com/blog/science/simple-guide-phosphoramidite-chemistry-and-how-it-fits-twist-biosciences-commercial#:~:text=Phosphoramidite%20chemistry%20is%20the%20gold,200%20base%20pairs%20in%20length.
twistbioscience.com/blog/science/simple-guide-phosphoramidite-chemistry-and-how-it-fits-twist-biosciences-commercial#:~:text=Phosphoramidite%20chemistry%20is%20the%20gold,200%20base%20pairs%20in%20length.
genengnews.com/topics/omics/dna/could-we-store-all-of-the-worlds-data-in-a-coffee-mug-full-of-dna
nature.com/articles/s41563-021-01021-3
genengnews.com/topics/omics/dna/could-we-store-all-of-the-worlds-data-in-a-coffee-mug-full-of-dna
genengnews.com/topics/omics/dna/could-we-store-all-of-the-worlds-data-in-a-coffee-mug-full-of-dna
nature.com/articles/s41587-020-0695-9
cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/dna/Enzymatic-DNA-synthesis-significant-new/100/i3
dnastoragealliance.org/why
