Daijiworld Media Network – Beijing

Beijing, Sep 14: As global data creation outpaces traditional storage, scientists in China have unveiled a groundbreaking “DNA cassette tape” that could redefine how information is archived.

Detailed in the journal Science Advances, the team built a polyester-nylon tape imprinted with barcode-like patterns, allowing digital files to be converted into DNA sequences of the four bases—A, G, C, and T—and then sealed under a protective crystalline layer. To demonstrate the system, researchers encoded a digital image into DNA and later retrieved it intact.

DNA’s natural density and durability make it a remarkable medium: a single human cell’s DNA can store around 3.2 gigabytes, roughly 6,000 books. A 100-meter DNA tape could theoretically hold data equal to more than 36 petabytes—over three billion songs—while lasting for millennia without power.

Tech giants and biotech firms including Microsoft, Illumina, and GenScript are investing heavily in DNA storage research. Although costs and read/write speeds remain hurdles, experts believe DNA-based archives offer an energy-efficient, sustainable solution to the looming global data crunch.