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Storing Shakespeare in your Blood? Not exactly, but close.

By February 9, 2013May 23rd, 2025No Comments

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

Storing Shakespeare in your Blood? Not exactly, but close.

Scientists announcedย on January 23, 2013 that they have successfully converted 739 kilobytes of hard drive data in genetic code. Not only that, but they retrieved the content with 100 percent accuracy!

When one imagines the evolving coexistence of humans and machines, people often let paranoia and technophobia dictate a dystopian future a la George Orwellโ€™sย 1984ย or, more recently,ย Cloud Atlas. The latest exploration of this intersection, a process that literally coverts human-made data into DNA, may simultaneously support the dystopian argumentย andย undermine it. For once, humans are contributing to the world of machines!

Researchers gathered a range of culturally relevant dataโ€”all 154 of Shakespeareโ€™s sonnets, an audio recording of Martin Luther Kingโ€™s โ€œI Have a Dreamโ€ speech, and cleverly and appropriately,ย James D. Watson and Francis Crickโ€™s original research paper on the double helix structureโ€”and translated the standard binary 1โ€™s and 0โ€™s into the four letters, A, C, G and T, used by scientists to represent DNA nucleotide bases. Reversing the process provided a re-creation of the original data.

Can I convert a family photo album so that my family is literally and figuratively in my DNA?

Yes, yes you could, you clever, meta loving person. But not for a while. As the process currently exists, the high cost prevents the technology from becoming ubiquitous any time soon. Sequencing and synthesizing DNA is very costly (after all, we arenโ€™t comparing DNA like we would with aย paternity test; weโ€™reย creatingย it). Researches indicate that โ€œanother 100-fold drop in the cost of DNA sequencing, which has already happened in the past decadeโ€ may allow your dreams of clever wit to come true.

About DNA Diagnostics Centerย (DDC)

DNA Diagnostic Center is the world leader in paternity and relationship testing. We serve healthcare professionals, government agencies, and individuals around the world to determine family relationships with trusted accuracy.

More Questions? Donโ€™t hesitate to call us: weโ€™re here to help!

CALL NOW: 888-362-2599

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