Based in Athens, GA, Nicholas Leonard is working toward his bachelor’s degree in management information systems at the University of Georgia. With an extensive background in analytics and process automation, Nicholas Leonard pursues studies in Athens, GA, that include learning about new technologies.
Automation technologies span a dizzying array of applications and sectors, with Microsoft having recently teamed up with the University of Washington in creating a fully automated system that allows the storage and retrieval of manufactured DNA data.
The benefits of DNA include its capacity to store information digitally in a space that is several orders of magnitude more compact than that currently necessitated by data centers. As the amount of data continues to increase exponentially, the need for improved storage, preservation, and access solutions for it becomes more urgent.
The aim of the project is to create a commercial system that will appear just like any current cloud storage service to the end user. However, the information will be encrypted and stored on lab-generated synthetic DNA molecules. One advantage of this approach is that DNA has a much longer lifespan than the archival storage technologies currently in play, which degrade within decades.
Key hurdles in the way of DNA as a commercial automated storage medium include the need to develop technologies well beyond the sequencers and synthesizers presently employed in creating and accessing DNA-archived data.
Automation technologies span a dizzying array of applications and sectors, with Microsoft having recently teamed up with the University of Washington in creating a fully automated system that allows the storage and retrieval of manufactured DNA data.
The benefits of DNA include its capacity to store information digitally in a space that is several orders of magnitude more compact than that currently necessitated by data centers. As the amount of data continues to increase exponentially, the need for improved storage, preservation, and access solutions for it becomes more urgent.
The aim of the project is to create a commercial system that will appear just like any current cloud storage service to the end user. However, the information will be encrypted and stored on lab-generated synthetic DNA molecules. One advantage of this approach is that DNA has a much longer lifespan than the archival storage technologies currently in play, which degrade within decades.
Key hurdles in the way of DNA as a commercial automated storage medium include the need to develop technologies well beyond the sequencers and synthesizers presently employed in creating and accessing DNA-archived data.
