Shulou(Shulou.com)05/31 Report--

Researchers at the University of Washington and Microsoft demonstrated the first fully automated system for storing and retrieving data in artificial DNA, a key step in moving technology from a research lab to a commercial data center.

In a simple proof-of-concept test, the team successfully encoded the word "hello" in the resulting DNA fragments and converted it back into digital data using a fully automated end-to-end system, as described in a newly published paper. In the science report.

DNA can store digital information in a smaller order of magnitude than the one currently used in the data center. This is a promising solution for storing the explosive data generated around the world every day, from business records and cute animal videos to medical scans and outer space images.

Teams from the University of Wisconsin and Microsoft are exploring how to narrow the gap between the amount of data we generate and the amount of data we store. This includes the development of algorithms and molecular computing techniques to encode and retrieve data in the resulting DNA, which can fit all the information currently stored in warehouse-sized data centers to the size of about several board game dice.

"our ultimate goal is to put the system into production. To end users, it looks a lot like any other cloud storage service-bits are sent to the data center and stored there, and then they show up when customers need them, "said lead researcher Karin Strauss, associate associate professor at the Paul G. Allen School of computer Science and Engineering and a senior researcher at Microsoft." To do this, we need to prove its practicality from the perspective of automation. "

Information is stored in synthetic DNA molecules created in the lab, rather than DNA from humans or other organisms, and can be encrypted before being sent to the system. Although complex machines such as synthesizers and sequencers have completed key parts of this process, so far, many intermediate steps need to be done manually in the research laboratory. Chris Takahashi, a senior research scientist at Allen College, says this is not feasible in a business environment.

"you can't have a group of people running around the data center with pipettes-it's too prone to human error, too expensive and takes up too much space," he said.

For technologies that make sense as commercial storage solutions, it is necessary to reduce the cost of synthesizing DNA-- basically custom build chains with meaningful sequences-- and the sorting process of extracting stored information. The researchers say the trend is moving rapidly in this direction.

According to the team, automation is another key part of the problem because it enables commercial-scale storage and makes it more economical.

Under the right conditions, DNA can last longer than existing archiving technologies, and these storage technologies will degenerate within decades. Some DNA successfully existed in the huge tusks and bones of early humans after tens of thousands of years of unsatisfactory storage, and as long as humans were alive, they should be related.

The DNA data automatic storage system uses the software developed by the team to convert the digital data of 1 and 0 into As, ts, Cs and Gs that make up the DNA building module. It then uses cheap, basically off-the-shelf laboratory equipment to flow the necessary liquids and chemicals into the synthesizer, which builds the manufactured DNA fragments and then pushes them into the storage container.

When the system needs to retrieve information, it adds other chemicals to properly prepare the DNA, and uses a microfluid pump to push the liquid into the machine, "read" the DNA sequence, and convert it back to information that the computer can understand. The goal of the project is not to prove how fast the system can run at low cost, but only to prove that automation is feasible, the researchers say.

One of the immediate benefits of having an automated DNA storage system is that it allows researchers to solve deeper problems rather than spending time looking for reagent bottles or repeatedly squeezing droplets into test tubes.

Bichlien Nguyen, a Microsoft researcher, said: "having an automated system to do repetitive tasks allows those of us working in the lab to start developing new strategies with a higher vision-fundamentally faster innovation."

The team at the University of Wisconsin's Molecular Information Systems Lab has shown that it can save cat photos, wonderful literature, popular videos and archives in DNA and retrieve these files without error in the research environment. So far, they have been able to store 1gb data in DNA, the best of which is their previous 200 megabyte world record.

The researchers have also developed techniques to perform meaningful calculations, such as searching and retrieving only images containing apples or green bicycles, using the molecules themselves, without having to convert the files back to digital format.

"We're definitely going to see a new type of computer system born here, where you can use molecules to store data and use electronic devices to control and process them. Putting them together offers some very interesting possibilities for the future," said Louis Seitzer, a professor at UW Allen College.

Unlike silicon-based computing systems, DNA-based storage and computing systems must use liquids to move molecules. However, fluid is essentially different from electronics, which requires new engineering solutions.

Researchers are developing a programmable system that automates laboratory experiments by using the characteristics of electricity and water to move water droplets on the electrode grid. A complete set of software and hardware, nicknamed "puddles" and "idea drops", can mix, separate, heat or cool different liquids and run laboratory protocols.

The goal is to realize the laboratory experiments carried out by manual or expensive liquid handling robots.

Automation-but the cost is only a small part of it.

The team's next steps include combining a simple end-to-end automation system with technologies such as PurpleDrop and the ability to search using DNA molecules. Researchers have specifically designed automated systems that can be developed with the advent of new technologies for synthesis, sequencing or using DNA.

"the advantage of this system is that if we want to replace one of the parts with something new or better or faster, we can plug it in," Nguyen said. "it provides a lot of flexibility for our future."

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