DNA could be the future of data storage

Sounds like a bad idea. Genomes arent static and have a ton of helper protein enzyme complexes to repair damage. We don't even really know how epigentics really affects much of anything.

There's also a neat startup from IndieBio doing something similar: https://catalogdna.com/

What I really wonder is what does this mean for the future of copying the data.

If it's DNA it seems like you could split and replicate the DNA in a PCR to come up with a huge number of copies. (like they do to amplify DNA for testing)

Not to mention, the future of injecting someone with some data DNA that is to be reproduced by the host body and later recovered possibly without notice by the target. Also using the DNA repair mechanisms to keep the data correct.

Pretty cool stuff.

tl;dr a team has used some kind of novel encoding to pack the max bits into some test tube dna. Presumably a strategy better than 4B5B? Far future use is Amazon Glacier storage.

I recommend http://dnafountain.teamerlich.org/ over the linked interview. It has links to their paper and github page.

Old news, it's been known as a method for cold storage of data for at least 10 years. We probably won't see it used in your smartphones in the near future unless your phone looks like amoeba.

I can't find any numbers on throughput?