What is the most important information to store in your DNA?

in #technology8 years ago

This is an experiment in thought that asks your response to a problem that will become a reality in the future.


Scientists calculate that the whole of human knowledge could be contained in DNA the size of a room, but an individual does not need that much information. Unless you were a historian or researcher, would you have use for digital versions of antiquated texts such as ancient shipping manifests or recipes for okra flavored ice cream?

Of course, a simpler solution might be to create an electronics mesh that could be implanted in the body and communicate directly with the brain. The device would exchange data between your brain and the Internet via WiFi.

For example, if you wanted to browse the latest posts in your Steemit feed, you would think that thought and they would parade before you to be selected for evaluation, upvoting and filing away. Perhaps, you would resteem the article if you thought it would be of interest to those who follow your thoughts.

This technology has a way to go before it becomes a practical reality, but it would be good to know what kind of information is the most important to carry around. As an example, let us say you were a scientist-astronaut doing research on a moon of Jupiter when it was on the opposite side of the Sun where it would take an hour to upload a data request to Earth and download the answer. Data stored in your DNA with easy access by the brain would solve this problem.

A gram of DNA can store 2800 years of HD video. This is more than you could possibly consume in a lifetime. A recent research paper calculated 3.72 x 10^13 cells are in the human body. If each cell contains 3 x 10^-12 grams of DNA we could figure roughly 100 grams of DNA are contained in the human body. If we only need 1% that to store our information, that would be 1.5 lbs. of tissue. The human brain weighs around 3 lbs. so the equivalent of 1/2 a brain more in tissue could provide 200+ petabytes of almost perfect memory.

My question is:

If we could store up to 200 petabytes of additional information in your head, what would you store?

Naturally, there are no right or wrong answers and I would expect different answers according to the needs of each individual. Personally, I would like to have a copy of Wikipedia in my head because I find it to be a resource that I use daily, but that's just me. Please respond with your thoughts in the comments section below and upvote if you found this post thought provoking.

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