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.