In case of extinction, scientists store human genome on a ‘memory crystal’ that lasts billions of years

Photo caption: The memory crystal holds the Guinness World Record for the most durable digital storage medium. Photo credit: University of Southampton. Article by Andrew Paul. Popular Science – September 19, 2024.

Researchers have encoded the entire human genome onto a “5D memory crystal” in the off chance our species finds itself needing to walk back from the brink of extinction. But even if the plan ultimately fails, the device itself is theoretically capable of providing our genetic code to some other future, sentient third-party, even if it takes them billions of years to find it. […]

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