A breakthrough study takes significant step forward in the quest to develop a 的DNA-based storage system for digital data.
数字输入型 data 由于我们对小工具的依赖，今天正在以指数速度增长，并且它需要强大的长期存储。 数据存储正慢慢变得具有挑战性，因为当前的数字技术无法提供解决方案。 一个例子是过去两年创建的数字数据比计算机历史上的所有数据都要多，实际上正在创建 2.5 quintillion byte {1 quintillion byte = 2,500,000 Terabytes (TB) = 2,500,000,000 Gigabytes (GB)} 的数据世界上的每一天。 这包括社交网站上的数据、网上银行交易、公司和组织的记录、来自卫星、监视、研究、开发等的数据。这些数据是巨大且非结构化的。 因此，现在解决数据的巨大存储需求及其指数增长是一个巨大的挑战，特别是对于需要强大的长期存储的组织和公司。
当前可用的选项包括硬盘、光盘 (CD)、记忆棒、闪存驱动器以及更高级的磁带驱动器或蓝光光盘，它们可存储大约 10 太字节 (TB) 的数据。 这种存储设备虽然被普遍使用，但具有许多缺点。 首先，它们具有中低保质期，需要在理想的温度和湿度条件下储存才能持续数十年，因此需要专门设计的物理存储空间。 几乎所有这些都消耗大量电力，体积庞大且不切实际，并且可能在简单的跌落中损坏。 其中一些非常昂贵，经常受到数据错误的困扰，因此不够健壮。 组织普遍接受的一种选择称为云计算——一种公司基本上雇用“外部”服务器来处理其所有 IT 和数据存储需求的安排，称为“云”。 云计算的主要缺点之一是安全和隐私问题以及容易受到黑客攻击。 还有其他问题，例如涉及的成本高、上级组织的控制有限以及平台依赖性。 云计算仍然被视为长期存储的一个很好的选择。 然而，看起来全球范围内生成的数字信息肯定会超过我们的存储能力，需要更强大的解决方案来应对这种数据洪流，同时提供可扩展性以考虑未来的存储需求。
DNA 可以帮助计算机存储吗？
我们的全球洞察力 的DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) is being considered as an exciting alternative medium for digital data storage. 的DNA is the self-replicating material present in nearly all living organisms and is what constitutes our genetic information. An artificial or synthetic 的DNA is a durable material which can be made using commercially available oligonucleotide synthesis machines. The primary benefit of DNA is its longevity as a 的DNA lasts 1000 times longer than silicon (silicon-chip – the material used for building 电脑）。 令人惊讶的是，只有一立方毫米 的DNA can hold a quintillion of bytes of data! 的DNA is also an ultracompact material which never degrades and can be stored in a cool, dry place for hundreds of centuries. The idea of using DNA for storage has been around for a long time way back to 1994. The main reason is the similar fashion in which information is being stored in a computer and in our 的DNA – since both store the blueprints of information. A computer stores all data as 0s and 1s and DNA stores all data of a living organism using the four bases – thymine (T), guanine (G), adenine (A) and cytosine (C). Therefore, DNA could be called a standard storage device, just like a computer, if these bases can be represented as 0s (bases A and C) and 1s (bases T and G). DNA is tough and long-lasting, the simplest reflection being that our genetic code – the blueprint of all our information stored in DNA – is efficiently transmitted from one generation to next in a repeated manner. All software and hardware giants are keen on using synthetic DNA for storing vast amounts to achieve their goal of solving long-term archival of data. The idea is to first convert the computer code 0s and 1s into the DNA code (A, C, T, G), the converted DNA code is then used to produce synthetic strands of DNA which can then be put into cold storage. Whenever required, DNA strands can be removed from cold storage and their information decoded using DNA sequencing machine and DNA sequence is finally translated back to binary computer format of 1s and 0s to be read on the computer.
已经显示1 that just a few grams of DNA can store quintillion byte of data and keep it intact for up to 2000 years. However, this simple understanding has faced some challenges. Firstly, it is quite expensive and also painfully slow to write data to DNA i.e. the actual conversion of 0s and 1s to the DNA bases (A, T, C, G). Secondly, once the data is “written” onto the DNA, it is challenging to find and retrieve files and requires a technique called 的DNA sequencing – process of determining the precise order of bases within a 的DNA molecule -after which the data is decoded back to 0s and 1s.
最近的一项研究2 来自微软研究院和华盛顿大学的科学家们已经实现了对 DNA 存储的“随机访问”。 “随机访问”方面非常重要，因为它意味着信息可以传输到或从位置（通常是内存）传输到其中的每个位置，无论在序列中的哪个位置，都可以直接访问。 使用这种随机访问技术，与以前相比，可以有选择地从 DNA 存储中检索文件，当这种检索需要对整个 DNA 数据集进行排序和解码以查找和提取所需的少数文件时。 当数据量增加并变得巨大时，“随机访问”的重要性进一步提高，因为它减少了需要完成的测序量。 这是有史以来第一次以如此大的规模展示随机访问。 研究人员还开发了一种算法，可以更有效地解码和恢复数据，对数据错误的容忍度更高，从而使测序过程也更快。 本研究编码了超过 13 万个合成 DNA 寡核苷酸，这些数据大小为 200MB，由 35 个文件（包含视频、音频、图像和文本）组成，大小从 29KB 到 44MB。 这些文件是单独检索的，没有错误。 此外，作者设计了在写入和读取 DNA 序列时更加稳健和容错的新算法。 这项研究发表在 自然·生物技术“ 在一项重大进展中，展示了一个可行的、大规模的 DNA 存储和检索系统。
DNA storage system looks very appealing because it is having high data density, high stability and is easy to store but it obviously has many challenges before it can be universally adopted. Few factors are time and labour-intensive decoding of the DNA (the sequencing) and also synthesis of 的DNA. The technique requires more accuracy and broader coverage. Even though advances have been made in this area the exact format in which data will be stored in the long-term as 的DNA is still evolving. Microsoft has vowed to improve production of synthetic DNA and address the challenges to design a fully operational 的DNA 到 2020 年的存储系统。
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{您可以通过单击下面引用来源列表中给出的 DOI 链接来阅读原始研究论文}
来源（S）
1. Erlich Y 和 Zielinski D 2017。DNA Fountain 实现了强大而高效的存储架构。 科学。 355(6328)。 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaj2038
2. Organick L 等。 2018. 大规模 DNA 数据存储中的随机访问。 自然生物技术。 36. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4079
