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For the first time , scientist have stored a copy of humanity ’s genetic design inside a near - perdurable " 5D computer memory crystal " — a newfangled data memory data formatting that could keep the worthful entropy safe for jillion of years , or even potentially to the final stage of time .
The researchers conceive theDNAtime capsule could be used to revive our species long after we have gone out . But not everyone hold .
Scientists used lasers to transcribe all 3 billion letters of the human genome onto a “5D memory chip” the size of a coin.
The coin - size crystal , developed by investigator at the University of Southampton in England , is made from a synthetic material that mimic the properties of amalgamated quartz — a glass made of almost pure silica , which is one of the most thermally and chemically stable material ever name . The squad first pioneered the crystal in 2014 , and it ’s stay the " most durable data storage material " on the planet ever since , according toGuinness World Records .
Most data storehouse data format in use today degrade over metre . But researchers foretell that the crystals could remain stable at room temperature for 300 quintillion years ( 3 followed by 20 zeros ) , which is long thanmost theory predict the universe will last . Even at higher temperature up to 374 degree Fahrenheit ( 190 degrees Celsius ) , the material could stay intact for up to 13.8 billion yr , which isaround the same age as the universeis now . Either way , the crystal could potentially outlive Earth , whichwill be destroyed by the sunin around 5 billion years .
The quartz can survive in temperature around 1,800 F ( 1,000 C ) or well below freeze . They can also withstand force up to 10 tons per square centimeter — roughly equivalent to the free weight of two African elephant ( Loxodonta sp . ) — and long exposure tocosmic radiation , stand for they could come through long journeys through space , researchers write in astatement .
The human genome memory chip will be placed in the “Memory of Mankind” collection deep within the abandoned Hallstatt salt mine in Germany.
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To store information within the crystals , the research worker uselasersto transcribe data onto millions of 20 - nanometer - wide ( 0.0000008 inches ) lymph node stack within a five - dimensional matrix , which contains " two optical dimensions and three spatial coordinates , " researcher write .
The researchersfirst carry through this in 2016 , when they transliterate copies of famous texts , such as the Magna Carta , the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the King James Bible , onto the crystal . The expectant crystals can store up to 360 terabytes of data , which is more than 5,000 metre more than a typical iPhone .
In this case , the squad spelled out theentire human genomeusing the four letter that represent the nucleotides , or foot , of DNA : adenine ( A ) , cytosine ( C ) , G ( G ) and thymine ( thyroxin ) . The intact genome is about 3 billion letters long , allot to theNational Human Genome research institute .
The lechatelierite will be placed in theMemory of Mankindcollection deep within the abandoned Hallstatt salinity mine in Germany and " could provide a blueprint to bestow humanity back from extinction one thousand , one thousand thousand or even billions of years into the future , " investigator write .
It is not currently possible to revive a species based solely on a single genome . However , the team believes that a succeeding advanced civilization that either develop from humans or hails from an alien domain may possess the necessary knowledge and applied science to accomplish this .
The crystal also includes small ocular diagram of base structure , DNA ’s treble - helix shapeand the atomic structure of elements crucial to life sentence such ascarbon , oxygen and nitrogen . The researchers hope these ocular cue will reveal the crystal ’s purpose to whoever bump it once we are go .
However , other researchers are unconvinced that a future civilisation could revive humanity from this lechatelierite . Thomas Heinis , a research worker and deoxyribonucleic acid storage expert at Imperial College London , told CNNit is unlikely that anyone who bump the chip would instinctively know what it was for or be able to read it . " I can barely tie my 10 - year - old iPod and listen to what I listened [ to ] back then , " he said .
— 50,000 ' mile ' dissipate throughout our DNA control gene natural process
— More than 150 ' made - from - incision ' cistron are in the human genome
— first potation of a human ' pangenome ' publish , adding one thousand thousand of ' build up block ' to the human reference genome
But there may be other uses for these familial memory french fries .
The engineering science also " opens up possibilities for other researcher to establish an everlasting repository of genomic information from which complex organism like plants and animals might be restored should skill in the future allow , " go researcherPeter Kazansky , a professor in optoelectronics at the University of Southampton , said in the statement .
This could help uphold the DNA ofspecies endanger with extinctiondue toclimate changeand other human - related activities , the researchers said .
