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January 26, 2011

Scientists Discover How To Store Data In Bacteria

Scientists Discover How To Store Data In Bacteria
Researchers at Hong Kong's Chinese University have found what might be the safest way to store data: not in a safe, not in the cloud, but in bacteria.

Biostorage, the term for storing and encrypting information in organisms, has only existed for close to a decade, but scientists say the method could soon allow for text, images, music, or even video to be "recorded" in E. Coli, according to Discovery.

By encoding data in bacterial DNA, the information has a virtually limitless lifespan. As each bacteria reproduces, the data could be copied thousands of times. By mapping E. Coli's DNA, that data can be easily found and isolated.

Perhaps more importantly however, bacteria isn't susceptible to intrusion.

"Bacteria can't be hacked," Allen Yu, a student instructor, told Discovery.

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