Scientists store entire human genome on ‘memory crystal’ that could survive billions of years

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. London CNN — Scientists in the United Kingdom have stored the entire human genome on a “5D memory crystal,” in the hope that it could be used in the future as a blueprint to bring humanity back from extinction. In 2014, the crystal was awarded the Guinness World Record for “most durable digital storage material.” Kazansky’s team used ultra-fast lasers to inscribe the human genome data into voids as small as 20 nanometers. “The 5D memory crystal opens up possibilities for other researchers to build an everlasting repository of genomic information from which complex organisms like plants and animals might be restored should science in the future allow,” said Peter Kazansky, a professor of optoelectronics, who led the team at Southampton. In 2018, Kazansky and his team used the memory crystal technology to store Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” trilogy of science fiction books, which were then launched into space aboard a Tesla Roadster.