SCIENTISTS have a new plan B for humanity, should life as we know it heads towards extinction. Hidden in a salt cave in Austria, scientists have stored human DNA on memory crystals which could eventually be used to revive society after an extinction event. 2 The idea is that the human genome inscribed onto the crystal will be able to survive war, natural disasters, or a cataclysmic asteroid strike Credit: University of Southampton 2 The team also theorises that beings, of either organic life or machines, may be able to revive humans if the science allows in the far distant future A memory crystal is essentially a sophisticated 5D memory card made of a material equivalent to fused quartz - one of the most durable materials on Earth.
Unlike other data storage formats, these don't degrade over time. So-called "eternity crystals", developed by scientists from the University of Southampton, are practically indestructible and can survive for billions of years without data loss. They can withstand freezing, fire and temperatures of up to 1000 °C, as well as cosmic radiation and heavy impacts.
READ MORE ON FUTURE TECH OUT OF THIS WORLD Plans to build SPACE PLANE launched from 500mph sled by 2028 The crystals can store up to 360 terabytes of data, enough room for the human genome which contains roughly three billion letters. The idea is that the human genome inscribed onto the crystal will be able to survive war, natural disasters, or a cataclysmic asteroid strike. While today's scie.