Researcher Karin Ljubic Fister studies plant-based data storage, which involves modifying genes, bacteria and infected plants to store information in the very genetic sequences of species. Once a coding system is established, generally a form of substitution cipher, it can added to the DNA of a bacterium and used to infect a plant.

“Imagine walking through a park that is actually a library,” she says, “every plant, flower and shrub full of archived information. You sit down on a bench, touch your handheld DNA reader to a leaf and listen to the Rolling Stones directly from it, or choose a novel or watch a documentary amid the greenery.”

The result is not just data storage that lasts for the life of a given crop, but storage that is heritable, each new generation containing a “Hello World” program or whatever else you want to implant within it

Imagine using, for instance, a global seed vault to store data as well as seeds, a backup system invulnerable to EMPs – a whole world’s worth of information packed into a pile of corn and peas.

Plants could, of course, also be used to seed landscapes of communication, fertile grounds could become a more complex storage system, with different plots to store parts of a larger informational set,

Imagine: farms and other ecosystems as vast organic archives. No more time wasted trying to see the forest from the trees – there could be a whole new layer information in the mix as well. (h/t Geoff Manaugh)

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In a way, it was completely predictable: futurologist Paul Saffro thinks that wealthy people may involve into an entirely separate species in the future. Advances in nanotechnology and cybernetics mean that we’ll start living much longer (maybe even forever) and diseases and genetic conditions will be stopped before they become a threat to our health. The catch to this brave new world, however, is that only the very wealthy will be able to afford these health advancements. And that means the super-rich will possibly evolve into a crazy cybernetic race of immortals. If they didn’t have to worry about coronary artery disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s – the things that bring the rest of us down – those who can afford the best medical procedures, cybernetic enhancements and bizarre life-lengthening treatments could focus their evolutionary power elsewhere.

(image via: Kamal Krishna)

But we have some problems with this theory. First off, cybernetic enhancements aren’t passed down generationally. If a father has a mechanical heart, his children won’t be born as half-machines. The only possible genetic hand-me-downs to be gained from near-future biomedical science will be things like gene therapy – and current gene therapy procedures aren’t long-lasting. Also, people who depend on mechanical modifications (like artificial white blood cells, for example) to stay healthy will actually be genetically weaker in the long run since nature doesn’t see the mecha bits – just the au naturale stuff. So while it’s a fun thing to speculate about, we think Mr. Saffro’s vision is very, very far from becoming reality.

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