Will DNA one day replace the hard drive? Researchers at the European Bioinformatics Institute continue to make strides in the field of DNA storage, using the biomolecule to successfully encode common computer files such as MP3s, text files and JPEGs on DNA. Recent successes suggest DNA may become a primary storage medium within the next few decades.

While the current storage methods pose a high cost, the superior storage capacity, density and durability of DNA leads researchers to believe that if they can make DNA storage more cost effective, it will eventually become the primary way to store content.

DNA can last for tens or even hundreds of thousands of years, and even longer than that if frozen. Modern magnetic storage techniques lose their storage capacity after just a few decades as they become brittle and lose their coating, explains Technology Review.

This requires data to be transferred from device to device as they become old. DNA would eliminate the issue of diversified devices and readers by consolidating storage to one effective method.

“We want to separate the storage medium from the machine that will read it,” says Nick Goldman of the European Bioinformatics Institute. “We will always have technologies for reading DNA.”

When trying to refine the DNA storage technology, the researchers focused on simplifying the process. “To make the DNA files, the researchers created software that converted the 1s and 0s of the digital realm into the genetic alphabet of DNA bases, labeled A, T, G, and C,” notes the article. “The program ensures that there are no repeated bases such as ‘AA’ or ‘GG,’ which lead to higher error rates when synthesizing and sequencing DNA.”

Current estimates place the price of encoding DNA data at $12,400 per megabyte, and another $220 per megabyte to read that data back. Researchers expect these prices to drop within the next few decades and allow DNA encoding to emerge as a legitimate way for people to store data.

Until then, the researchers say the technology will be used more for long term storage items that do not need to be decoded or opened very often.