Fossilised bones inspired researchers to protect digitally encoded synthetic DNA inside silica particles. In an ETH Zurich laboratory prototype, 83 kB of data was recovered without error after 2,000 years of simulated ambient-temperature storage, using encapsulation and error-correction coding. That is a simulation—not two millennia of observed storage—and it does not establish a commercial archive. DNA synthesis cost remains a barrier to competing with magnetic storage.
How can DNA store digital data?
Researchers translate digital information into sequences of DNA bases, synthesize those molecules, then protect them for storage. To retrieve the file, they extract and read the DNA sequence and decode it back into digital data. The information is carried by the deliberately designed DNA sequence; it is not stored in fossil bone.
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ETH Zurich’s Functional Materials Laboratory calls its protective approach “synthetic fossils.” Silica or glass particles encapsulate the DNA and shield it from environmental threats such as reactive oxygen species and high temperatures. A titanium dioxide layer can provide additional protection from ultraviolet radiation. In the laboratory, diluted fluoride buffer dissolves the particles so the DNA can be recovered. This is a research technique, not a consumer storage product. ETH Zurich: Synthetic fossils
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Protection is only part of the system. Digital files also need an encoding scheme and enough redundancy to detect or correct errors if some DNA is damaged or read incorrectly. That is why the survival of DNA molecules alone does not tell you whether the original digital file can be reconstructed.
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What did the silica “synthetic fossil” prototype demonstrate?
ETH Zurich reports that researchers encoded two works—the Methods of Mechanical Theorems by Archimedes and the Swiss Federal Charter—into synthetic DNA, for a combined total of 83 kB. With silica encapsulation and forward error-correction coding, they recovered the data without error after 2,000 years of simulated ambient-temperature storage. The duration is a result of a simulation, not a period the material was actually stored and observed. ETH Zurich: Synthetic fossils
The demonstration shows how molecular protection and digital error correction can work together in a laboratory prototype. It does not prove that a complete archive will remain readable for 2,000 years under real-world conditions, or that the method is ready for routine archival use. ETH identifies the cost of array-based DNA synthesis as an engineering challenge that must be reduced for DNA storage to compete with established magnetic storage. ETH Zurich: Synthetic fossils
How does the salt-based experiment compare?
A separate experiment reported in 2020 used DNA dried with inorganic salts, including calcium phosphate. It reported 115 kB of encoded data remaining error-free after accelerated aging. This was a different stabilization method from ETH Zurich’s silica particles, and the result does not establish commercial availability. The two reports use different aging protocols, so their data quantities and outcomes are not a direct durability contest. Chemistry World: DNA data storage stabilised by inorganic salts
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| Approach | Protection method | Reported data | Aging evidence | What the result establishes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETH Zurich synthetic fossils | DNA encapsulated in silica or glass particles | 83 kB | 2,000 years of simulated ambient-temperature storage; recovered without error with forward error correction | Laboratory prototype |
| Salt stabilization | DNA dried with inorganic salts, including calcium phosphate | 115 kB | Error-free recovery after accelerated aging | Separate experimental approach, not a commercial product |
What can fossil DNA tell us about how long DNA lasts?
Fossil DNA offers evidence about biological molecules surviving in particular environments, but it does not provide a universal expiration date for DNA archives. In a 2012 study of 158 radiocarbon-dated New Zealand moa bones, Allentoft and colleagues estimated an average half-life of 521 years for a 242-base-pair mitochondrial DNA sequence in that assemblage. They also found substantial differences among samples that geological age alone did not explain. The estimate applies to the studied bones and sequence, not to all DNA, environments, or encoded files. Allentoft et al., PNAS (2012)
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Ancient DNA is often fragmented and scarce rather than preserved as an intact genome. A 2018 silica-based extraction protocol describes recovering fragments at least 35 base pairs long, including ultrashort fragments at least 25 base pairs long. Finding such fragments is not the same as recovering a complete genome or reconstructing a digital file. Dabney et al., Nature Protocols (2018)
A 2021 review of DNA stability in data-storage systems cautions that the useful lifetime of digital information depends on encoding and physical redundancy as well as molecular preservation. Its assessment of stability inferred from fossil DNA—“a few hundred years or less”—reflects the assumptions discussed in that review, not a settled limit for every DNA-storage design. Review of DNA stability in data-storage systems (2021)
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why do conditions after excavation matter?
Natural preservation does not stop being context-dependent when a bone is dug up. Handling, washing, oxygen, temperature, and humidity can affect how much DNA remains recoverable. Two studies illustrate the risk, but neither should be treated as a rule for every specimen or collection.
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Freshly excavated bones versus standard treatment
A 2007 study examined 247 herbivore fossil bones, up to 50,000 years old, from 60 archaeological and paleontological contexts. Freshly excavated, untreated, unwashed bones contained six times more DNA and yielded twice as many authentic DNA sequences as bones subjected to standard treatments. In a split aurochs comparison, washed museum-stored material did not amplify while recently excavated samples did. The authors estimated that at least as much amplifiable DNA was lost during 57 years in a collection as during the preceding 3,200 years in burial. These are findings from that study’s samples, not a prediction for every museum bone. Pruvost et al., PNAS (2007)
A 43-year comparison at one Greenland site
A 2025 Communications Biology study compared caribou ribs excavated in 1978 and 2021 from the same West Greenland site. In the stored samples, average fragment length declined from 70 bp to 55 bp across the 43-year interval; the 2021 in-situ material was better preserved than the museum-stored bones. The authors discuss differences in temperature, oxygen, and humidity and call for more work on museum storage climates. This one-site comparison is a caution about conditions, not a universal measure of museum-related DNA loss. Communications Biology (2025)
Is DNA data storage available yet?
The work described here is laboratory research, not a consumer-ready device or service. ETH Zurich’s prototype demonstrates a possible preservation method and a simulated recovery result; the separate salt experiment is also a research demonstration. The cited work does not establish a product for personal or institutional archives. High DNA-synthesis costs remain one obstacle to competing with magnetic storage. ETH Zurich: Synthetic fossils
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