George Church, a renowned geneticist and synthetic biologist, led a team that successfully converted DNA code to computer code and back again. This achievement demonstrated the potential for DNA data storage and computing.

DNA Data Storage:

In 2012, Church’s team encoded:

1. 700 terabytes of data (books, images, etc.)
2. Into DNA strands (about 2 mg)

Using:

1. Binary code conversion (0s and 1s to DNA base pairs: A, C, G, T)
2. Error-correcting algorithms

DNA-to-Computer Code Conversion:

In 2013, Church’s team:

1. Sequenced the DNA
2. Converted it back to binary code
3. Successfully retrieved the original data

Implications:

1. DNA data storage: dense, durable, and energy-efficient
2. Molecular computing: leveraging DNA’s parallel processing capabilities
3. Synthetic biology: designing new biological systems

Current Advances:

Researchers have since improved DNA data storage capacity and efficiency. For example:

1. Microsoft’s 2019 breakthrough: 1 exabyte (1 billion gigabytes) stored in 1 gram of DNA
2. Harvard’s 2020 achievement: 100 GB stored in a single DNA strand

George Church’s pioneering work paved the way for innovative applications in:

1. Data storage
2. Computing
3. Synthetic biology

And continues to inspire advancements in these fields.

Citation: https://newatlas.com/book-dna-data-storage/23848/