A new DNA storage method has emerged which seeks to revolutionize the existing methods of encoding data on strands of DNA. A team of researchers from Peking University and three other research institutions recently published their findings on using DNA methylation to selectively mutate “epi-bits” on pre-existing strands of DNA. Simply put, it works, writing faster than other DNA methods, but still falling short of real-world utility for now.
DNA is incredibly informationally dense. DNA can hold up to 215 petabytes of data per gram based on our most efficient DNA encoding processes, but writing and reading data to DNA is both very expensive and very slow. The most common processes to put data on DNA are based on “de novo” synthesis; making custom DNA sequences from scratch. The new epi-bit method instead writes to existing strands, in theory saving time and money in the process.
