Plant-based digital data storage: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Hypothetical storage of data in plants}}

{{one source|date=January 2021}}

'''Plant-based digital data storage''' is a futuristic view that proposes storing digital data in plants and seeds.<ref name="Ferrari">Ferrari, M., C’è un computer in quel faggio, Focus, April 2016, pp. 21–24.</ref><ref name="Oneill">O'Neill, S., I plant memories in seeds, New Scientist, Volume 229, Issue 3056, 16 January 2016, {{doi|10.1016/S0262-4079(16)30130-0}}</ref> The first practical implication showed the possibility of using plants as storage media for digital data. New approaches for data archiving are required due to the constant increase in digital data production and the lack of a capacitive, low maintenance storage medium.

== History ==

The first practical idea about using plants as storage media was proposed by Karin Fister and Iztok Fister Jr. in 2013 when the two were still undergraduate students at the University of Maribor (Slovenia). They wondered where to permanently store all of their digital information on a computer. The two wrote on their website "Why can't we put all the data in the history of mankind in one stone, near spruce or oak...and that was the click."<ref>[http://www.storing-data-into-living-plant.net/experiment Storing data into living plant]</ref> Their first philosophical report that proposed this out-of-the-box-thinking was published in 2014.<ref name='Fister1'>Ljubic, K., Fister Jr., I. How to store Wikipedia into a forest tree: initial idea, Msivism 2014, pp. 45–52. 2014</ref>

== Initial experiments==

With the help of two biotechnologists, they encoded a basic computer program in Python Programming language into ''Nicotiana benthamiana''.

They first encoded a “Hello World” computer program into a DNA code, synthesized it and cloned this [[DNA digital data storage|coded DNA]] into a plasmid-vector to be used further for transformation into ''[[Nicotiana benthamiana]]'' plants. The encoded program was reconstructed from the resulting seedlings with 100% accuracy by showing “Hello World” on the computer screen.

Their approach demonstrated that artificially encoded data can be stored and multiplied within plants without affecting their vigor and fertility. It also takes a step forward from storing data into a naked DNA molecule.

It is inherent in progeny and authentically reproducible while the reduced metabolism of the seeds provides an additional protection for encoded DNA archives.

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As for manipulating and storing archives, their approach leverages a new look at accessing, browsing and reading information. 1g of DNA could store exabytes of data and it is a huge, capacitive storage medium. DNA protected within a seed of a living plant could be easy to access when hand-held readers will become a reality.

== seeSee also ==

* [[DNA digital data storage]]

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[[Category:Biochemical engineering]]

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