Data Stored in Bacteria

Can you imagine being able to store data and sensitive information in bacteria. Researchers from Hong Kong's Chinese University have devised a method for storing data in Escherichia coli bacterial cells. Information such as text, images, music, and even video can be compressed and distributed between different bacterial cells. By mapping the bacterial DNA, the researchers are able to find and retrieve the information. The researchers claim that one gram of bacteria are capable of storing the same amount of data as can be stored in 450 hard disks with 2,000 gigabytes of storage space each.

The study of storing and encrypting information in living organisms is called biostorage. According to student instructor Allen Yu of the biostorage project, "Bacteria can't be hacked. All kinds of computers are vulnerable to electrical failures or data theft. But bacteria are immune from cyber attacks. You can safeguard the information." The researchers also state that there are built-in checks in their encoding mechanisms to make sure that mutations in the bacteria do not corrupt the data. Although E. coli bacteria are disease causing germs, the ones used in the study have been genetically modified so that they pose no risk to the researchers. The bacteria are not able to survive outside of the synthetic medium in which they reside.
For more info- http://biology.about.com/b/2011/02/16/data-stored-in-bacteria.htm