Science & Technology

Could We Replace Data Centers with … Plant DNA? | Cliff Kapono and Keolu Fox | TED

Is it possible to meet the world’s seemingly infinite demand for data storage while also caring for the natural environment? Biomedical researcher Keolu Fox and professional surfer and scientist Cliff Kapono believe that Indigenous knowledge combined with the science of genetics may offer such a solution: using the DNA of plant cells (like those found…

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Is it possible to meet the world’s seemingly infinite demand for data storage while also caring for the natural environment? Biomedical researcher Keolu Fox and professional surfer and scientist Cliff Kapono believe that Indigenous knowledge combined with the science of genetics may offer such a solution: using the DNA of plant cells (like those found in sugar cane) as mini data warehouses. Learn more about the incredible potential of this technology — and how it could help foster ecosystem resilience in a high-tech world. (Recorded at TED2024 on April 18, 2024)

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26 Comments

  1. @sooma-ai

    October 29, 2024 at 7:05 am

    Researchers propose using plant DNA, particularly sugar cane, as a sustainable alternative to traditional data centers. This method could reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions while revitalizing indigenous land systems and preserving local information.

    • @qaskhan7553

      October 29, 2024 at 7:37 am

      So mystery is my favorite song 🎵 💕 1:05 😮

    • @qaskhan7553

      October 29, 2024 at 7:38 am

      Myself can hold all worlds inductive 1:11 😅 spi 1:11 1:11

  2. @moneyobsessed

    October 29, 2024 at 7:18 am

    Is this a skit?

    • @TheWhiteHawk27

      October 29, 2024 at 7:25 am

      I’m wondering the same

    • @binzo-xx5jj

      October 29, 2024 at 7:37 am

      haha same, couldn’t take them seriously

    • @PrebenHPedersen

      October 29, 2024 at 7:44 am

      One would hope it was, but i Think not unfortunatly. Problem is when you dont look the part, alot of people wouldnt listen, or take Them serious, on something that is very important.

    • @thereligion4169

      October 29, 2024 at 10:49 am

      No it’s not I was a big fan of the University of Tennessee researchers who bioengineered gold into the DNA of mycelia, and the capability to extract environmental data chemically communicated by it. As in we can talk to mycelia.

  3. @PrebenHPedersen

    October 29, 2024 at 7:48 am

    Would love for it to be real, but it sounds like the one on the left is High.

    • @ManTeera

      October 29, 2024 at 8:17 am

      😂😂😂

    • @TimeWeWokeUp

      October 29, 2024 at 8:50 am

      Nobel prize winner Kary Mullis claims he was high on lsd when he invented PCR. He was also a surfer. The problem with these guys is that they have an idea (which is not new) but no plan to achieve it.

  4. @meadowking369

    October 29, 2024 at 7:51 am

    it’s a lovely idea, though it probably is only good for storing data that doesn’t have to be accessed for a long time. If you sequence the dna of the plants, you inevitably store the data on a regular hard-drive again.

    To ensure the integrity of the data it’s probably even better to just store it in dna, and then conserve it.
    First because genetically engineered plants that have to be a certain way in order to store data, could impose some risks on wild species
    And Second, mutations are no problem (But i guess our algorithms could handle some mutations)

    • @sfa8472

      October 29, 2024 at 11:17 am

      Project Silica is much better.

  5. @kCuFfication

    October 29, 2024 at 8:20 am

    “Grasshoppers ate my homework, my wedding photos, and my bathroom renovation plans.”

  6. @forestforthetrees1111

    October 29, 2024 at 8:29 am

    Listen to what they’re saying, to their words, and don’t pay attention to what they’re wearing or their attempt to be funny in the beginning. What they’re describing is incredible.

  7. @beaumac

    October 29, 2024 at 8:58 am

    It’s an interesting idea to use biological materials for long term data storage and archival. I don’t understand how this helps with the power consumption problem they raised in the beginning though. The problem arises from the retrieval and transmission of the data, not the storage.

  8. @skylaroots

    October 29, 2024 at 10:01 am

    EA HONUA! – sovereign Earth 🙏🏼🍃

  9. @juvalca8007

    October 29, 2024 at 10:12 am

    Climate crisis? No matter what we do. “They”will keep messing with it.

  10. @SinanWP

    October 29, 2024 at 11:10 am

    -_-

  11. @michellebrouellette

    October 29, 2024 at 1:57 pm

    How do you retrieve the data?

  12. @Brusanan

    October 29, 2024 at 3:34 pm

    And how do you account for the fact that the data will be modified every single time the DNA is replicated?

    This is the kind of idiocy that you can only ever find in academia.

  13. @rw6836

    October 30, 2024 at 8:45 am

    Not sure how practical this idea is for frequent recording and retrieval of information. Using genome editing to record information, and using sequencing to retrieve information, both take time and energy as well, so it’s not necessarily less energy intensive than data centers.

    This would be a neat idea for storing information that doesn’t need frequent retrieval, but DNA mutates over time as they get damaged and repaired, so not sure how good the integrity is over the long-term.

  14. @SojiNanjo

    October 30, 2024 at 9:41 am

    Data on DNA as already been done ages ago by swiss scientists!

  15. @urbanstrencan

    October 30, 2024 at 1:10 pm

    Just amazing tech development ❤❤

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