Leon Anavy - DNA-based data storage systems and related biological and computational challenges

DNA synthesis technology has greatly developed over recent years and is holding a promise to enable a leap in using natural systems for various applications including mRNA vaccines and DNA-based data storage. DNA-based storage systems have a physical information density that is orders of magnitude better than that of magnetic media. DNA is also chemically robust. Finally, DNA, as a central molecule of life, will never become obsolete. DNA, therefore, forms the basis of an appealing data storage approach. In recent years, several studies demonstrated using synthetic DNA to store digital information. The talk will begin with a brief introduction to DNA synthesis technology and to DNA-based data storage. We will then describe three example projects. First, a study in which we exploit inherent redundancies in DNA synthesis technologies to achieve higher logical density by introducing composite DNA encoding. Next, we present a combinatorial encoding scheme designed to further increase the logical density of DNA-based storage while reducing error probabilities. Finally, we describe novel enzymatic DNA synthesis technology, analyze its unique error patterns, and explore matching coding schemes.