5D Memory Crystals stores a very human genome for posterity
Genetic code is stored in melted quartz
Indestructible memory crystals can tolerate heat, strength and cosmic radiation
In 2016, progress was made in the development of data storage as scientists at the University of Southampton successfully developed a 5D memory crystal Able to store a maximum of 360 Terabytes (TB) data, with a shelf life of almost 14 billion years.
In contrast to conventional data stores that break down over time, the technology, called “Superman Memory Crystal”, has a huge potential for long-term data retention, opening new roads in scientific, environmental and historical archiving.
The 5D memory crystal developed by the Optoelectronics Research Center (ORC) of the University of Southampton is a unique medium for data storage that uses five dimensions to code information.
5D memory crystal
The term “5d” refers to the two optical dimensions and three spatial coordinates that are registered in the crystal. With ultrasnelle lasers, the team writes data in nanog -structured void in the silica material, creating a very sustainable and stable form of memory storage.
A human genome is the full set of genetic instructions for a person, coded in DNA. It consists of around 3 billion base pairs organized in 23 pairs of chromosomes that are in the core of each cell.
Although it is currently not possible to synthetically recreate people, plants or animals of genetic data, some progress has been made in synthetic biology. Thus, the preservation of those 5D memory crystals would be able to play a crucial role in a day in reviving extinct species (such as the US) in the distant future.
The makers of the 5D memory crystal had the future in mind, given that it can be discovered long after people have disappeared. The crystal is stored in the memory of humanity archive – a unique time capsule in a salt cave in Hallstatt, Austria. This archive serves as a security, the preservation of human history and knowledge for future generations.
The data registered in the crystal are carefully annotated with universal elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen, as well as the four DNA bases – adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine – which form the genetic code. In addition, the molecular structure of DNA and the arrangement of genes in chromosomes are displayed, which offers clear instructions about interpreting the genetic information that is stored.
However, it is important to note that the 5D memory crystals require highly specialized skills and advanced equipment to register and read the data stored in the crystals, so those who want to restore the human race after an extrincing event, may have to refer to more traditional means.
The crystal, made of molten quartz, is one of the most chemical and thermally resilient materials that are known on earth, and can tolerate temperatures of up to 1000 ° C, resists direct impact forces of up to 10 tons per square centimeter and is by no means influenced – Cosmic radiation. The lifetime and storage capacity of the 5D memory crystal yielded a Guinness World record in 2014 because the most sustainable material for data storage has ever been made.
“We know from the work of others that genetic material of simple organisms can be synthesized and used in an existing cell to create a viable living specimen in a lab,” says Professor Peter Kazansky, the leader of the scientific team to the University of Southampton.
“The 5D memory crystal opens opportunities for other researchers to build an eternal repository of genomes of genuine information from which complex organisms such as plants and animals can be restored if science allows in the future … the visual key that is on the crystal Registered, the finder gives knowledge of what data is stored inside and how it can be used … We do not know whether memory crystal technology will ever follow these plaques in the distance traveled, but every disk can be expected with a high degree of trust for their survival time To exceed, “added Professor Kazansky.
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