Scientists claim big advance in using DNA to store data

^{DNA microarray image by Guillaume Paumier, 
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Scientists say they have made a major step forward in efforts to store information as molecules of DNA, which are more compact and long-lasting than other options.

The magnetic hard drives we currently use to store computer data can take up lots of space.

And they have to be replaced over time.

Using life's preferred storage medium to back up our precious data would allow vast amounts of information to be archived in tiny molecules.

The data would also last thousands of years, according to scientists.

A team in Atlanta, US, has now developed a chip that they say could improve on existing forms of DNA storage by a factor of 100.

"The density of features on our new chip is [approximately] 100x higher than current commercial devices," Nicholas Guise, senior research scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), told BBC News. 

"So once we add all the control electronics - which is what we're doing over the next year of the...