Scientists Store 70 Billion Books on DNA | The Institute for Creation Research

Scientists Store 70 Billion Books on DNA

Data storage technology has come a long way since punch cards. But the undisputed king of data density is still DNA. A team of scientists fit 70 billion copies of their genetics book—including page formatting instructions and images totaling 700 terabytes of data—into just one gram of DNA.

Harvard scientist George Church led this technological feat.1 The scientists first built a digital coding and decoding scheme whereby either of two of DNA's four chemical bases was designated "0," and either of the other two bases was designated "1." How could they successfully copy digital information of their choice, using zeroes and ones coded into DNA strands?

They used next-generation high-fidelity DNA microchips to print the DNA in 96 base-pair pieces. Sequencers then read each of those pieces, taken at random from a mixed pool. A computer reassembled the data into its proper order because the scientists engineered ID tag sequences every 19 base pairs. In the end, they "printed" billions of book copies in a fingernail-sized puddle of DNA.

There is no material that has as much data storage density as DNA. It is better than blue-ray discs, hard drives, and even flash drives. The Science report shows that DNA is six powers of ten denser than flash drive technology.

The sheer superiority of DNA as a data storage medium is strong evidence for its supernatural creation. This may even be one of the reasons why the 20th century's most prominent intellectual atheist, the late Antony Flew, confessed, "What I think the DNA material has done is show that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinary diverse elements together."2

Reference

  1. Church, G. et al. Next-Generation Digital Information Storage in DNA. Science Express. Published online before print on sciencemag.org, August 16, 2012.
  2. Ostling, R. Leading Atheist Now Believes in God. Associated Press, December 9, 2004.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on August 29, 2012.

The Latest
NEWS
Another Sea Scorpion
There are few animals more nightmarish than an 8-foot sea scorpion! Although, they were not true scorpions, their fossils display a menacing and formidable...

NEWS
June 2023 ICR Wallpaper
"From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD's name is to be praised." Psalm 113:3 NKJV ICR June 2023 wallpaper is now available...

NEWS
Sauron Inhabits the Amazon
“The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat’s, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Summer 2023
...

CREATION PODCAST
I Have NO Credentials! | The Creation Podcast: Episode 50
Do you need a science degree to be a champion of creation? How do we communicate the truths of Scripture to our friends and family? The good news...

NEWS
Shark Jaws
Sharks are back in the news, and it’s in regard to their most formidable and fearsome structure—their jaws. Zoologists recently studied...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Established Day 4 | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode 13
Humans have long been fascinated by the night sky. As Psalm 19:1 reminds us, "The heavens declare the glory of God"—His creative signature...

NEWS
Physical Evidence Trumps Evolution Theory
One of the hallmarks of good science is to formulate a cogent theory based on the physical evidence. For example, if the physical evidence (e.g. a fossilized...

NEWS
Solar System Symmetries
Most all school children can recite the planets in our solar system using memory devices such as: “My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Names”...

NEWS
Does Iron Toast Union Rescue Long Ages?
The puzzle persists after all these years. On the one hand, biochemists perform decay rate studies that show biochemicals cannot last a million years...