with using living DNA cells in E. coli bacteria to store digital code. This approach could aid in studying cancer, aging, and organismal development, the group reports, although the approach is not particularly efficient or desirable for holding massive volumes of data. Church notes that if the living cells do not find an evolutionary advantage to the data, they will begin mutating it, and at some point, they will destroy it.

molecular Data storage

Next-generation storage techniques are advancing in other ways. At MIT, a group of researchers is diving into the realm of molecular storage. The group has found a way to create a new type of supramolecule from molecules specially assembled by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata. This supramolecule binds two different types of atoms: fragments of graphene, comprised of thin sheets of carbon atoms, with zinc atoms. When these atoms are placed on a magnetic surface, the resulting magnetized supramolecule is about one nanometer in size and able to store data at a density of 1,000 terabytes per square inch (compared to a maximum capacity of less than one terabyte of data per square inch in current hard drive technology).

The experimental technology works in a somewhat different way than standard magnetic drives. Researchers placed a thin film of the molecular material they developed on a ferromagnetic electrode, and added a second ferromagnetic electrode on top. When a relative change in one electrode’s magnetic orientation occurs, there is a sudden increase or decrease in the system’s conductivity. These two states represent the 1s and 0s of binary code.

However, the MIT researchers observed two jumps in conductivity— even when the supramolecule had only one associated ferromagnetic electrode, rather than the pair. “This occurrence came as a complete surprise,” says Jagadeesh S. Moodera, a senior research scientist in the MIT Department of Physics. The ability to alter the conductivity of the molecules with only one ferromagnetic electrode could drastically simplify the manufacture of molecular memory.

“the problem with
today’s physical
storage devices
is that we are
approaching their
physical limits.”

A 1,000-times increase in storage
density could redefine everything from
data centers to personal devices. “The
problem with today’s physical stor-
age devices is that we are approach-
ing their physical limits,” says Karthik
V. Raman, a research scientist at IBM
India and part of the MIT team that
invented the molecular storage tech-
nology. “Molecular storage could offer
far better performance in terms of data
retention, densities, and power use. It
could result in much more powerful
and smaller devices. A device the size
of an iPhone could have a staggering
amount of storage capacity.”
Moodera says there is still consider-
able work to be done on the concept.
While scientists have demonstrated
the technology works, they eventually
hope to show two stable and nonvola-
tile states for the molecules. In addi-
tion, the technology currently operates
at a temperature of - 9 degrees Fahren-
heit—so-called “room temperature” in
physics. Researchers will have to find
way to build the storage structure at
higher temperatures to make it com-
mercially viable.

However, the challenges do not end there. The researchers must also find a way to boost conductivity differences from the current 20% range to perhaps 50% or more. Getting to this point could take a decade or more, and will require both material innovation and fabrication advances. “We need to investigate further so we can achieve a deeper understanding at the molecular level,” Moodera explains.

 

storage: the next Generation In the end, it is not so much a question of if next-generation storage technologies will go mainstream, but

when. As we continue to amass increasing stores of data, the need for new storage technologies becomes increasingly clear. Molecular and DNA storage could become the vehicles of choice, or something new could appear. Either way, “New generations of vastly more efficient storage systems could fundamentally change the way we approach data, manage complex tasks, and approach computing,” Raman explains.

For now, researchers are looking to fill in the gaps in order to produce commercially viable systems. They are tapping expertise in every discipline from biology and quantum physics to software development to assemble all the pieces and build the storage medium of the future. Says MIT’s Moodera: “The goal is to explore different molecules, different configurations, and different ways of applying computing technology. Although these future storage mediums are remarkably complex, we are on the doorstep of developing remarkable systems that will redefine the way we manage, store, and use data.”

 

Further Reading

Raman, K.V., Kamerbeek, A.M., Mukerjee, A, Atodiresel, N., Sen, T.K., Lazić, P., Cacluc, V., Michel, R., Stalke, D., Mandal, S.K., Blügel, S., Münzenberg, M., Moodera, J.S., Interface-engineered templates for molecular spin memory devices, nature, 493, 509-513, Janaury 2013. http://www. nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7433/full/ nature11719.html

Goldman, N., Bertone, P., Chen, S., Dessimoz, C., LeProust, E.M., Sipos, B., Birney, E., Towards practical, high-capacity, low-maintenance information storage in synthesized DnA, nature, January 2013. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ ncurrent/full/ nature11875.html

O’Driscoll, A., Sleator, R.D., Synthetic DnA: The next Generation of Big Data Storage, Bioengineered, May/June 2013. http://www.landesbioscience.com/ journals/bioe/2013BIOE-nV- 43.pdf.

Church, G.M., Gao, Y., Kosuri, S., next-Generation Digital Information Storage in DnA., Science, Sept. 2012, Vol. 337, no. 6102, P. 1628. http://www. sciencemag.org/content/337/6102/1628. abstract Samuel Greengard is an author and journalist based in West linn, or.