Data-storing bacteria could last thousands of years

[Blacklord]

Well this might solve the problem of fading floppies - though I can just imagine the interface to our Commie equipment :

Scientists successfully store "e=mc2 1905" on DNA of living matter

February 27, 2007  (Computerworld) -- A Japanese university announced scientists there have developed a new technology that uses bacteria DNA as a medium for storing data long-term, even for thousands of years.

Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences and Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus announced the development of the new technology, which creates an artificial DNA that carries up to more than 100 bits of data within the genome sequence, according to the JCN Newswire.

The universities said they successfully encoded "e= mc2 1905!" -- Einstein's theory of relativity and the year he enunciated it -- on the common soil bacteria, Bacillius subtilis.

While the technology would most likely first be used to track medication, it could also be used to store text and images for many millennia, thwarting the longevity issues associated with today's disk and tape storage systems -- which only store data for up to 100 years in most cases.

The artificial DNA that carries the data to be preserved makes multiple copies of the DNA and inserts the original as well as identical copies into the bacterial genome sequence. The multiple copies work as backup files to counteract natural degradation of the preserved data, according to the newswire.

Bacteria have particularly compact DNA, which is passed down from generation to generation. The information stored in that DNA can also be passed on for long-term preservation of large data files, the scientists said.

[Mark Smith]

What happens when you documents start to evolve ?

[Blacklord]

What happens when you documents start to evolve ?

Self-modifying documents perhaps ?

[hydrophilic]

I wonder how long it takes to transfer 100 bits to a bacterium?  Do you think it's slower than a 1541?

[Guest]

I wonder how long it takes to transfer 100 bits to a bacterium?  Do you think it's slower than a 1541?

Not likely.  But I think the JiffyBAC upgrade will do nicely.

[lobogris_1976]

ja ja ja ja ja ja ja NICE! just only if your document is infected by a virus! ah! C128 don't have viruses... ok
THEN IT IS WORST... Just imagine your storage bacterium is attacked by a real Virus ! jajajajajajaja
La monda!

[RobertB]

...on the common soil bacteria, Bacillius subtilis.

A little bit of ointment will cure that.  ;-)

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/