Two Japanese universities have announced scientists there have developed a new technology that uses bacteria DNA as a medium for storing data long-term, even for thousands of years.

They have successfully encoded “e=mc2 1905!” on the common soil bacteria, Bacillius subtilis.

“While the technology would most likely first be used to track medication, it could also be used to store text and images for many millennia, thwarting the longevity issues associated with today’s disk and tape storage systems — which only store data for up to 100 years in most cases.”