DNA Punch Cards for Storing Data

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Overview

Synthetic DNA storage systems draw significant interest in the scientific community due to the potential for high storage density and stability. These systems are costly, have a high read/write latency, and are prone to errors. However, these issues can be resolved through the use of native DNA punch cards.[1].

Results

Native DNA can be used as punch cards due to the fixed-nature of native DNA sequences. Information can be encoded by nicking the backbone of double-stranded native DNA, enabling operations such as random access and in-memory computation. This is achieved by parsing files as n-bit strings which are subsequently converted into nicking positions that serve as registers. At each register's position, a nick indicates a value of 1, and the absence of a nick indicates a value of 0. For example, a string of 01001000 would have nicks at positions 2 and 5. Since the bit 0 doesn't require any reactions in this nick-based system, it halves the size of recorded files. The following figure shows the reading and writing of encoded data:

Figure 2a and 2b from [1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Tabatabaei, S.K., Wang, B., Athreya, N.B.M. et al. - DNA punch cards for storing data on native DNA sequences via enzymatic nicking
    Nature Communications ,2020
    Bibtex
    Author : Tabatabaei, S.K., Wang, B., Athreya, N.B.M. et al.
    Title : DNA punch cards for storing data on native DNA sequences via enzymatic nicking
    In : Nature Communications -
    Address :
    Date : 2020