---
title: "Scientists Just Stored The Hottest Album From 1998 In Literal DNA"
description: "It's already been 20 years since Massive Attack's Mezzanine dropped."
date: "2018-04-20"
modified: "2018-06-19"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/scientists-stored-album-in-dna"
categories:
  - "DNA"
  - "Genetics"
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "dna"
  - "DNA Storage"
  - "entertainment"
  - "massive attack"
  - "music"
  - "nucleotides"
---

# Scientists Just Stored The Hottest Album From 1998 In Literal DNA

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/mezzanine.png>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezzanine_(album)#/media/File:Massive_Attack_-_Mezzanine.png" target="\_blank"\>Virgin Records/Getty Images/Victor Tangermann\</a\>\</em\>*

A, T, G, and C are the 0s and 1s of living things. Unlike the code stored in silicon, data stored in DNA won't degrade for thousands of years. And DNA can just hold a lot more data— one gram of DNA can store [one billion terabytes of data](<https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/04/microsoft-experiments-with-dna-storage-1000000000-tb-in-a-gram/>) (approximately a kajillion iPods).

Now scientists at ETH Zurich have [figured out how to store](<https://www.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2018/04/entire-music-album-to-be-stored-on-DNA.html>) one of humanity's great works in the inalterable medium of DNA: Massive Attack's epic album *Mezzanine,* which came out on this date 20 years ago. The British trip hop duo's masterpiece now lives inside 5,000 tiny glass beads, spread out over almost a million short DNA strands.

To squeeze data on DNA strands, it first has to be translated from binary (0s and 1s) to DNA's four nucleotide bases (A, T, G, C). Then, researchers have to synthesize DNA molecules (a very complex process) that preserve that sequence perfectly. The sequences are then written onto those molecules. Once it's dehydrated and stored under the right conditions, the molecules can last for thousands of years.

This isn't the first time researchers have stored digital files in DNA; the Swiss scientists' work comes in second place spot for the largest files stored in DNA (first place goes to Microsoft, after researchers managed to [cram 200 megabytes](<https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-microsoft-stored-200mb-of-data-in-dna-strands-and-whats-next/>) — including a video from the band OK Go!, in HD — onto DNA).

Unfortunately, the process so far is [very slow, and very expensive](<https://www.popsci.com/dna-data-storage-cost>). But having Massive Attack's masterpiece fully encoded in DNA will ensure that the future generations of cyber humanoids have some fresh 1998 beats to shimmy their appendages to.

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)