DNA has emerged as a tantalising way to store digital information in recent years, but it comes with a significant problem: the molecule is so fragile that individual DNA strands rapidly degrade. A new technique to boost its survivability could see the molecules used to archive our data.

DNA has been floated as a reliable medium for large data storage, partly because it has a theoretical storage capacity of about 4.55 million terabytes per gram. Unfortunately, the fragile molecule deteriorates unless it is stored under cool and dry conditions.