Can molecules store data? – Hindu

For some time, scientists have known that biology can contain more information. Representative illustration. |Picture source: Galina Nelyubova/Unsplash

The amount of physical space required to store digital data has plummeted over the past few decades. A 100 GB hard drive used to be a bulky device; today, a USB drive smaller than a finger can hold more data. This development is attributed to advances in electronic engineering.

But despite how good the engineers got, they are naturally still leading the way. For some time, scientists have known that biology can contain more information. For example, DNA is a supramolecular that contains our genes and is expected to hold 200 b of data per gram. Scientists have reason to believe that this “biological storage” is also more energy-efficient and has more elasticity to physical impacts.

On May 16, a team led by the University of Texas Bipin Pandey reported 11-character passwords stored in the molecules they made in the lab. These molecules are called sequence-derived oligoethane (SDOS), and are polymers made of four monomers. The order of monomers determines the SDO encoding information. When SDO degrades in a controlled manner, the sequence is read through a technique called differential pulse voltammetry to reveal encoded information.

The next steps include speeding up the “reading” process (currently taking 11 hours) and “connecting the polymer with integrated circuits, the computer chip becomes a reading system for storing information,” reads the university’s press release.