Researchers stored an OK Go music video on strands of DNA

Researchers just figured out how to squeeze 200 MB of data onto some strands of DNA.

That's right, the same stuff that's inside all of us, the blueprints for our eye color, ear shape, height and more — all that makes you, you — also happens to be a pretty decent medium for storing the same kind of information you put on a traditional USB memory stick.

Microsoft and the University of Washington announced the storage breakthrough on Thursday, reporting that they had managed to store a 2010, high definition OK Go music video (see below) as well as 100 books and Crop Trust's seed database on some DNA strands. Storing data on synthetic DNA is not new, but 200 MB is a huge leap from the most recent DNA storage record of just 22 MB. Read more...