Every living organism on Earth has a genetic code hidden in strands of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This stored information is vital in passing on certain features concerning the creation, development and survival of creatures from one generation to the next.
However, while scientists have long tried to tabulate the entirety of biological matter present in the planet, nobody has attempted to calculate the amount of information in living organisms until now.
A team of researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom have found a way to measure just how much information stored in DNA is present on the Earth.
In a study featured in the journal PLOS Biology, Edinburgh scientists Charles Cockell, Duncan Forgan and Hanna Landenmark calculated the total amount of DNA present in the world through the use of previous estimates of cellular abundance, biomass and average genome size.
They computed for the information from all facets of life and came up with the mind-boggling figure of 53 nonillion (5.3 × 1031) megabase pairs.
"This quantity corresponds to approximately 5 × 1010 tons of DNA," the scientists said.
"[T]his... is equivalent to the volume of approximately 1 billion standard shipping containers... By analogy, it would require 1021 computers with the mean storage capacity of the world's four most powerful supercomputers to store this information."
The researchers further calculated the computational power of the Earth by determining the transcription rate of DNA and using it as an analogy for the processing speed. They came up with 1015 yottaNOPS.
The calculations made by the Edinburgh scientists are featured in a new, informational approach to explaining life in the Earth.
The researchers added that the biosphere of the Earth can be likened to a massive, parallel supercomputer. The amount of DNA can be compared to the biosphere's information storage, while the transcription rates stand in for the processing power.
Using an Internet analogy, the team said that every organism on the planet acts as an information container that is linked through various biogeochemical cycles and interactions. All of this information makes up the entire network.
The researchers went on to cite another analogy wherein they compared mass extinctions of beings as the damage on the hard drive of the biosphere.
Photo: Giò | Flickr
