{"id":40338,"date":"2026-11-11T10:50:30","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T09:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/?p=40338"},"modified":"2026-11-11T10:50:31","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T09:50:31","slug":"unige-and-hes-so-develop-a-micro-factory-that-stores-data-in-dna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/unige-and-hes-so-develop-a-micro-factory-that-stores-data-in-dna\/","title":{"rendered":"UNIGE and HES-SO develop a micro-factory that stores data in DNA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The University of Geneva (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.unige.ch\/en\/\">UNIGE<\/a>) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hes-so.ch\/en\/home\">HES-SO<\/a>, represented by the engineering school <a href=\"https:\/\/www.he-arc.ch\/en\/\">HE-Arc<\/a>, have developed a micro-factory that stores digital data as DNA. The machine is the result of <a href=\"https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101115389\/en\">DNAMIC<\/a>, a European project launched in 2023 with partners from several countries and funded by <a href=\"https:\/\/research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu\/funding\/funding-opportunities\/funding-programmes-and-open-calls\/horizon-europe_en\">Horizon Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Digital files are converted from binary code into a four-letter code based on the DNA bases A, T, G and C, in line with DNA&#8217;s chemical constraints. The encoded file is then synthesized as a DNA strand, a process that can take several hours, using a synthesis machine from Austrian biotechnology company <a href=\"https:\/\/kilobaser.com\/\">Kilobaser<\/a>. The DNA is sealed in small stainless-steel capsules that protect it from oxygen, light, moisture and heat, and stored archives need no additional energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to UNIGE, one gram of DNA could theoretically hold the equivalent of several thousand hard drives for thousands of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A watchmaking archive as a first test<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The system was tested at the HE-Arc campus in Saint-Imier, in the canton of Bern, where it encoded a watchmaking heritage archive from the Centre jurassien d&#8217;archives et de recherches \u00e9conomiques (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cejare.ch\/\">CEJARE<\/a>). UNIGE developed the archiving tool used for the encoding, and HE-Arc worked on the machine&#8217;s technical architecture and cybersecurity. The system will also allow the archive to be read back in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next steps include automating sequencing, decoding and the internal management of archives. The team is seeking further funding to continue development and to establish the technology as a start-up. Given its current cost, use is likely to be limited, for now, to preserving valuable archives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The University of Geneva and HES-SO, through its HE-Arc engineering school, have developed with European partners a micro-factory that encodes digital data into DNA and seals it in stainless-steel capsules. It has been tested on a watchmaking heritage archive in Saint-Imier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":40339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[839],"tags":[907,886,899],"class_list":["post-40338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-en","tag-engineering","tag-rd","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UNIGE and HES-SO develop a DNA data storage micro-factory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The University of Geneva and HES-SO&#039;s HE-Arc develop, with European partners, a micro-factory that archives data in DNA.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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