10 Years of Natural Data Storage

Abstract

Digital data explosion has been driving a demand for robust and reliable data storage medium. The present day digital storage devices presents a big challenge for data scientists to provide reliable, affordable and dense storage medium. In the last decade, natural storage medium such as DNA, bacteria, and protein has been shown as a promising approach for next generation information storage systems. This article is a review that discusses advancements in the natural data storage, which has potential to replace the current physical storage for archival systems and have high storage per unit weight of medium, and is affordable and reliable. Further, the challenges for natural data storage will also be presented. With the international DNA data storage alliance of more than 30 companies and academic alliance in 2020, one would hope that DNA data storage will soon be available commercially in next 5–10 years. The success of the alliance will also motivate researchers to explore the other natural storage medium such as bacteria and protein which are currently in the lab.