Long-term data storage in DNA

Abstract

This article discusses how DNA might be used to store data. It is argued that, at present, DNA would be best employed as a long-term repository (thousands or millions of years). How data-containing DNA might be packaged and how the data might be encrypted, with particular attention to the encryption of written information, is also discussed. Various encryption issues are touched on, such as how data-containing DNA might be differentiated from genetic material, error detection, data compression and reading frame location. Finally, this article broaches the difficulty of constructing very large pieces of DNA in the laboratory and highlights some complications that might arise when attempting to transmit DNA-encrypted data to recipients who are a long period of time in the future.