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Scientists Bury 'Digital DNA' Deep Inside a Swiss Fort Knox

by Caleb Johnson on May 20, 2010 at 09:00 AM

Digital DNA deposited underground

Preparing for the very real need to access defunct digital formats, European scientists have buried a "key" deep inside a bunker as part of the ongoing $18.5 million Planets initiative to protect history. According to Reuters, scientists culled information from 16 archives, libraries and research institutions, and built a time capsule in order to preserve digital formats, which are changing at a rapid pace. "The time capsule being deposited inside Swiss Fort Knox contains the digital equivalent of the genetic code of different data formats, a 'digital genome'," Adam Farquhar, one of the scientists behind the capsule, told Reuters.

Most hardware has a lifespan of less than five years, digital files are good for about five-to-seven and CDs and DVDs can last around 20 years. So, if 100 years from now, we want to read research or interpret data that is currently stored on a hard drive, we'll need "digital DNA," which would work as a guide to decoding these older formats. Farquhar explained to Reuters that while most of Einstein's notebooks can still be read today, 50 years from now, most of Stephen Hawking's files will only be digitally accessible. It's essential to have access to data from previous generations, especially as the sheer volume of data created is expected to explode in the coming years as mobile devices continue to gain popularity. [From: Reuters/Fox News]

Tags: data, datastorage, digital, dna, future, obsolete, research, science, security, storage, timecapsule, top

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