The Problem

[Figure 1]: The volume of data created, captured, copied, and consumed worldwide from 2010 to 2020, with forecasts from 2021 to 2025.

Vast amounts of data are being produced every day. People generate them every hour through almost all activities, including e-mail, messages, blogs, SNS, and much more. Statistically, 150,000 messages are shared by Facebook users, and 347,222 stories are posted by Instagram users every minute. Currently, digital data is stored using magnetic or optical data storage devices, which usually store data for only about 10 years and cannot exceed 100 years even if they store it very well. Therefore, there are some problems caused by this system: tremendous data needs to be replicated often, and there is an exponential demand for energy for such data storage and data center operations. Also, hard drives require large amounts of electricity and produce an unseizable sum of greenhouse gas. They have served people some convenience. However, greenhouse gases being produced and the electricity being used in traditional storage methods have been a contributor to climate change, which is one of the most serious problems on Earth. For example, data storage centers use 1% of global electricity and account for about 2 % of total greenhouse gas emissions.

Although people know that using hard drives is not the best way to store data for the environment, they still decided to continue with this way of data storage due to the limitations of other well-known storage methods. Hence, people were motivated to aim for the fabrication of a newer, better storage medium that can secure the data, DNA storage, minimizing the harm to the environment and maximizing the safety and quality of data.

However, even this DNA storage method has some limitations to being commercialized, such as its low stability in an aqueous solution. To store DNA safely without harming any data, it must be stored through a complex process: freezing. But it takes too much time and energy to store DNA using this method every time retrieves DNA from it.

Our Solution

Our product, TFAM-DNA Enhancement Kit, aims to solve the limitations of current DNA storage methods, using the original principle of TFAM protein covering and protecting the mitochondrial DNA in the human body. Our product desires to improve the environment while maintaining its effectiveness.

Since we can store data stored in DNA even in the aqueous solution without freezing, by making a TFAM-DNA complex, the DNA storage method becomes more convenient and eco-friendly, saving lots of time and energy. The method we figured out to store DNA using the principle of TFAM protein protecting DNA would contribute to the development of the DNA storage method, solving the problems that conventional data storage methods have, such as data overflow and climate problems.

Another problem we are trying to resolve is how we can possibly maintain the effectiveness of the DNA data storage centers when we replace them with our own made DNA Data Enhancement Kit. There are doubts that such a small kit can be as effective as the large centers with DNA stored. However, since our product makes storage possible even in the aqueous solution, which can be the solution for one of the biggest obstacles, slow and inefficient storage methods, it can play a significant role in improving this novel technology, the DNA storage method.

TFAM-DNA Enhancement Kit

[Figure 2]: The model of the TFAM-DNA Enhancement Kit

This is an illustration of how Transcription Factor A Mitochondria (TFAM), a part of the mitochondria that plays a histone-like role, will help stabilize the DNA storage by encapsulating the DNA to protect the DNA from various stress factors that may harm the DNA. The TFAM-DNA Enhancement Kit starts off with TFAM protein, which can wrap the DNA that the data is in, and 5% glycerol, which allows the kit not to freeze even at a low temperature. Our product stabilizes the DNA even in an aqueous solution without the complex process of preserving data. To store data stored in DNA, the user simply needs to put TFAM protein in our kit on the DNA and wait until the TFAM and DNA form a complex. This simple and novel DNA storing procedure made our product more unique and convenient than the current DNA storing method, freezing and thawing.

In order to prove the effectiveness of our product, we had to prepare samples, starting off with DNA that has data of an image of a smiley face. We converted the binary smiley face image, consisting of numbers 0 and 1, to DNA sequences, consisting of A, T, G, C.

Then, the DNA was put together with TFAM protein, being a TFAM-DNA complex, which is a form of TFAM protein protecting DNA from outside damage. Each TFAM-DNA complex was then exposed to UV irradiation and H2O2 for 5 hours. After applying UV and H2O2 stress, the DNA sequence was analyzed by Sanger sequencing to check the DNA integrity in each sample. Then, the sequence was converted into binary code and decoded back to the original image, a 10 by 10 smiley-face image, which we inserted into the DNA.

As a result of the test, in both UV irradiation and H2O2 stresses, naked DNA showed low recovery rates: 9% and 11%. DNA with only 1 µg/mL TFAM also showed a low recovery rate in both UV irradiated, and H2O2 stressed samples: 21 % and 13%. However, even in aggressive stress conditions, DNA with 10 or 20 µg/ml TFAM recovered 100% of the original image. This result indicates that the TFAM-DNA complex protects the DNA even in aggressive aqueous storage conditions. The results also showed that non-biological information, the smiley face image stored in plasmid DNA, can be retrieved without errors. Therefore, it is proved that our product can effectively protect DNA from various stress factors.

[Figure 3]: After DNA stress was induced, the DNA was sequenced and decoded to retrieve the original image. (A) UV irradiated DNA (B) H2O2 stressed DNA. The intactness of the DNA was measured by how much of the original image was preserved after each stress had been induced. The percentage indicates the average recovery rate of the original image.

Market Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. We did a detailed SWOT analysis to objectively understand what we were doing best at the moment and in which part we still needed to improve and pay attention. Also, by specifically analyzing the opportunities and threats in the current market, we could estimate the state we were at and the path we needed to follow. The SWOT analysis helped us examine both internal and external factors, which is what's going on inside and outside our organization, and define some of the factors that will be in my control and will not.

[Figure 4]: Summary of the SWOT analysis

The strengths or benefits of our product are evident as it can provide an easier method than the existing DNA storing method. Our method of storing DNA as a TFAM complex requires fewer procedures and energy, making the data storage more convenient and eco-friendly than the freeze/thaw method, which is almost the only method of storing DNA currently. Not only that, but the method we use is safer than the freezing and thawing method in that the method can be stored in an aqueous solution without much worry related to the intense or drastic change in pH and temperature. This connects to the idea of convenience. Because the method we implement on our product doesn’t require the freezing part, which takes the most time and effort, it becomes more convenient with its ability to save a considerable amount of energy. In conclusion, the strength of our product is the novel and future-oriented advantages that aim to minimize the energy and procedure, which has the possibility to solve more problems, such as climate change and long-storing time, than the existing DNA storage method, freeze/thaw method.

Despite our product's strengths, our product lacks the target customers due to the novel and new technology our product incorporates. The concept of DNA storage technology is up-and-coming and has a fast-growing market size, but is too futuristic, as some experts state that this technology will be commercialized in 10 years. Since modern technology still takes much time to synthesize and encode the data into the DNA compared to the breakneck speed that CUP has, it is hard to be used by the public for now. Also, even though the DNA storage technology, which our product tries to improve, would be used in a wide range of fields because almost everything creates data nowadays, it is hard to estimate the accurate customers or market that our product would be used just by using the little amount of data existing now.

There are a few downsides to the current data storage system that opens up the opportunity for our product in the market.

The storage method isn’t robust; they do require not only technical equipment to protect the information but also require extensive facilities to keep the hardware and software running: including power subsystems, ventilation, and cooling systems, backup generators, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and cables to connect to external network operations. These facilities are open to the impact of external changes in condition and can be consumed - meaning they have to be changed or cleaned constantly while used. This makes it less cost-effective to use in the long term.

The current storage method has low information density. Storage centers also require a large amount of space to store information. Compared to the space they take up, however, the information they can hold isn’t much. This makes the use of space ineffective and unnecessary; this also contributes to a higher cost. For example, about 5700m2 big data storage centers can contain 1 exabyte of information (100,000,000 gigabytes). Considering that a middle-size soccer field can be 5000m2, the data storage center can be interpreted as taking up a great amount of space.

The current storage method requires a special reader for each media. Just like how a key and a lock work in daily life, each media composed of data requires a specific reader to analyze or recall the data. The space and cost to buy or build every reader can be negligible if the media is small enough; however, because we need a great amount of information to be stored, the money and space we need can’t simply be ignored. This contributes to a greater inefficiency of using money, especially by profit-seeking corporations.

To solve this problem, a few labs have come together to form a DNA data storage alliance. However, the limitations of not being able to store large amounts of data for a long time, and securing the data from outside attacks, have not been solved. Thus, no current companies use DNA as their source of storing information. Due to the limitations, despite the possibility for growth, there is a lack of attention from the media.

Here, our product plays a crucial role in the development of DNA storage technology. Since we can store DNA stored in DNA even in the aqueous solution without freezing, making a TFAM-DNA complex makes the DNA storage method even more convenient and eco-friendly, saving lots of time and energy. Therefore, our method of storing DNA as a TFAM-DNA complex would contribute to the development of the DNA storage method, making this technology more realistic. It would also solve the problems that conventional data storage methods have, such as data overflow and climate problems, and even the limitations in the DNA storage method, mainly the freeze/thaw method, such as slow and inconvenient storing procedures.

Threats are common for every business product: economic, ethical, and scientific threats. Some threats are also present in our product: TFAM + Glycerol kit. Although the DNA-based data storage market is futuristically promising with 44% CEGR, its current customer base is significantly limited. It is because such technology entails huge costs in the process of DNA synthesis and sequencing. Unlike conventional data storage methods, which only need a hard disk and computer, DNA storage requires a myriad of materials, including chemical synthesizers and catalysts.

In addition, it is too futuristic. Although a DNA storage system could resolve a myriad of social and environmental problems, such as data overflow problems and climate change, the cost is too high to be commercialized. Although our product makes the storing part more efficient, there is a limitation in the slow DNA synthesizing speed itself.

Furthermore, there is a chance that the waste generated from DNA data could be bio-hazardous. DNA could undergo mutation in a very small change that may threaten the world. It is especially the topic of concern today due to COVID-19.

Lastly, due to the novelty of the industry, we simply lack data. Only a few research studies were conducted for people to be well informed. More extensive research projects are required for the industry to be proven.

Our modern science has not developed enough, and we lack data in this novel field for such technology to be able to replace CPU or GPU, mainly for its speed issue. Experts estimate that we need about 10 years for it to be commercialized and widely available to the general population.

Some companies selling purified TFAM may become a threat to our product if they begin to surpass us. Phospho Solution, an Anti-TFAM (Transcription Factor A, Mitochondrial) Antibody, and Biovision are some of the companies that are currently selling or creating purified TFAM or TFAM without modifications. Phospho Solution stated, “PhosphoSolutions is rabbit polyclonal. It detects human, mouse, and rat TFAM (Transcription Factor A, mitochondrial) and is a neat serum. It is great for use in WB.” Biovison stated in their description, “Studies in mice have shown that TFAM is required to regulate the mitochondrial genome copy number and is important for embryonic development. TFAM has been associated with mitochondrial disorder which includes ocular myopathy and muscular wasting in humans. Kearns-Sayre syndrome was shown in a mouse model when expression of the gene was eliminated by targeted disruption in heart and muscle cells.” Therefore, since those companies deal with the TFAM protein, which is the main component of our product, there is a need to pay special attention to them.

[Figure 14]: Business Plan Book

The business plan we proposed consisted of the following: (1) products or services, (2) marketing plan and public relations, and (3) financial plan. The categories are composed of multiple sub-sections, each of which is an important part of the business plan.

The “products or services” category offers a layout to the overview of the product, with its sophistication, current state, problem, and solutions - a brief introduction to the product. We would then require our marketing plan to ensure the marketing proposals are according to the time and achieves to do so. For this reason, it is a necessity for the business plan to achieve it. In the marketing plan, we discussed some of the existing competition and analyzed them; it will help us enhance the way we view our product and further develop our own business strategy.

These are components of the “advertising” department of a business that is crucial to commercializing the product into practical reality. Identifying the target market for the product would limit or expand the scope of a specific or broad range of customers, sales and distribution assist businesses in finalizing the cost of the product, and advertising and promotion discuss the process and ways we intend to spread the presence of our product.

Concluding a cost or price for a product is such a capricious task as the cost may change frequently or rarely. To acknowledge our product’s benefits and drawbacks, we made a SWOT analysis and product or service offerings. The SWOT analysis will admit to the strengths our product possesses while identifying some of the threats and weaknesses our product holds, presenting insights for our product.

The last category that was part of the business plan is the financial plan. We incorporated some financial aspects in the marketing plan; from pricing strategy to analysis, this part reveals our product’s wholesale cost, selling price, and profit margin.

[Figure 15]: A summary of the estimated cost and revenue of the TFAM Kit

Customer Analysis

[Figure 5]: Public survey of product contribution to the development of DNA storage

[Figure 6]: Public survey of familiarity with DNA storage

[Figure 7] : Public survey of the usefulness of the product if commercialized

The main purpose of conveying a public survey is to check or receive the responses and different opinions of the customers. Indeed, it is important for gaining other insights, but it is also a crucial facet of the business. A public survey enables business owners or CEOs to effectively accumulate honest feedback, which the business owners will use to improve products, make any necessary adjustments from the responses, or even modify the costs of the product.

Before we let the public answer our survey, we provided them with an overview of the DNA storage method and our product so that we could gain a more accurate opinion of the public. We came up with a question that would give us an overview of whether or not the respondents understood or heard of the topic of DNA storage. After that, we delve into deeper questions that would be answered variously. The questions we proposed were to ask whether or not our product would be impacted or contribute to the development of DNA storage and to rate our product out of five. We made the questions a little vague and futuristic because our product is for the DNA storage method, which is still being developed and will be commercialized in the future. And we believe how the public will react to our product is crucial in the development of both DNA storage methods and our product.

We advertised a public survey to a variety of social groups, including some scientific societies, and fortunately got almost 50 responses. Half of the respondents heard and had not heard about DNA storage, and the majority thought that the DNA enhancement kit would contribute to the development of DNA storage, though some did not. Luckily, no respondents thought that our product would be useless, as most responses were in the range of three to five out of five. We concluded that according to the public survey, the majority of the respondents had a positive view of our product as the survey indicates the majority of respondents believe that our product can provide an impact in any way on the development of DNA storage and would be useful if our product is commercialized.

Interview with Experts

Hearing different opinions from stakeholders from various fields is very important, especially in the world of business. Therefore, to receive feedback and hear about different perspectives on our project, we interviewed a CEO of a biotechnology company and a postdoc researcher at MIT researching synthetic biology. Also, to gain foresight into the business aspect of our product and keep staying on the right track, we interviewed the founder of an app that enables the population to easily plant trees and compensate for CO2 emissions.

[Figure 8] : Interview with Seongjun Yoon

On August 1st, 2022, our team was fortunate to ask questions to Seongjun Yoon, a biotech CEO. He informed us that the product and idea are a very promising field and multiple advantages are present, including stability for a few thousand years, efficiency in data storing, and ease in replication. Despite these advantages, our product will be unable to replace the conventional data storage centers for 100% due to some limitations, such as slow DNA synthesizing speed and high synthesizing cost. Additionally, he told us that because our technology is extremely novel, it will take a long time to access and assimilate the technology. His response enlightened us in that we only thought about the advantages of the technology, which would be a game-changer in the field of DNA synthesis; we were hit by facts and had to consider how we could face these problems with ease.

[Figure 9] : Interview with Yoseb Song

Yoseb Song, an MIT postdoc in synthetic biology, gave us information that current companies are not interested due to the high DNA synthesizing cost and low efficiency in synthesizing. But, in the future, he said it can be used in big data companies. Specifically, he expects the technology to last for a prolonged period (million years), indicating a positive characteristic of the technology. He also thought that the technology was sturdy and could be easily accessible to the public - like a USB - which relieved our worries that our technology would be such a novel technology that no scientists would use it. Unfortunately, he thought that there would be errors that would hinder the technology if other substances were present. Yoseb Song’s opinion reminded us that despite the benefits the technology provides, there will always be drawbacks like errors present, according to Yoseb Song.

On September 27th, 2022, our team was fortunate to interview Seung-Joon Lee, who works in the SAP, data storage department. He believes that our product will function similarly to SDD hardware; however, he also doubted whether or not our product will be efficient when it releases as an official product. Despite his doubts about the effectiveness, he does have optimistic views on our product in that it will be a successful product during an era in which data with a size larger than PB comes. This gave us hope because we predicted that the era Seung-Joon Lee stated would become a reality within a few years or a decade. Also, he stated that if the DNA storage method is commercialized, there is a high possibility that this method can replace some current data storage methods, bringing positive effects in terms of ESG.

Talk with Business Advisor

[Figure 10] : Interview with Haryeong

On October 2nd, 2022, our team had an interview with Haryeong. Like most of the interviews we took part in, she thought our product is limited to storing or synthesizing DNA, currently; however, she also had hopes of a promising product that would help make DNA storage more efficient. We also had concerns related to the limited target customers, so Haryeong took this matter into consideration and answered, “Most people think a large market is good because it can gain many profits; however, being specific is also good because it is very unique and necessary.” Haryeong alleviated our product in that she thought having a specific or limited target market is never a negative aspect and could be unique and necessary. As we are a fledgling business that is attempting to commercialize a product that could be a game-changer, Haryeong also informed and supported our business through tips related to the operation of a business. The main ideas she pointed to are the following: be organized, record progress, learn from competitors, be open to new ideas, and never give up until we find a niche. As a start-up business or even a long-standing business, it is crucial to prevent postponing assignments or paperwork; Haryeong specifically requested to create a to-do list to manage our timeline and progress. She also convinced us to acknowledge potential challenges or financial challenges we may face with our current product. Though we may feel discouraged, we should be patient and keep advertising our product to let audiences know about our product.

Marketing

[Figure 11] : Picture of DaTa-FAM website

During the journey with the entrepreneurship team, we thought of an idea to develop a semi-wiki just for the entrepreneurship team. We thought that it would be more organized to develop a separate wiki that only contains our team’s information so that we could divide the sections according to our preferences, informing our product to the potential customers more effectively.

We divided our website into four separate parts: the current problem, our solution, our product, and support. The current problem part explains the limitation of the current data storage method, which is the possibility of data overflow and acceleration of climate change. Our solution part describes how our product solves the current problem and the impact of our product on the world. Our product page illustrates the procedure of making our product, TFAM protein, making the TFAM-DNA Enhancement Kit more translucent. Finally, the interview part summarizes the interviews that we have done to improve our product, providing different perspectives of the experts to the customers, too.

In businesses or companies, a website gives an opportunity for the business or company to make a strong first impression on the public, which is a vital aspect of advertising our product. Not only we created a website for business reasons but also to let customers understand and approach our product better. Since the concept of the technology we utilized in our product, the DNA storage method, and TFAM protein, we made our customers easier to approach our product, TFAM-DNA Enhancement Kit.

[Figure 12]: Picture of Business & Technology Conference

On September 25th, 2022, our entrepreneurship team proposed a large conference where other iGEM teams who are working for the special award “Entrepreneurship” could benchmark each other and present their work to other teams. This was a valuable opportunity for iGEM entrepreneurship teams to advertise their product and idea to other iGEM teams, receiving feedback from different teams that have different business strategies. Team Korea_HS, Insa Lyon 1, Empiregene, Wego Taipei, iGEM Patras were the main presenters at our conference.

After each team presented its products, other participants had an opportunity to discuss the presenter’s product and give feedback on it. Then, participants rated the team’s product on a scale of 5 according to four criteria: degree of novelty, market size, stable manufacturing process, and usefulness. After rating each product, we provided a diagram that shows the scores of each criterion at a glance so that the product creator can interpret and compare their result with that of other teams. By doing the following, each team could clearly know in which part they still needed to improve and pay attention, which is crucial but often not understood objectively by the business owners.

All in all, it was a helpful conference where everyone gained inspiration, whether it was based on the design of the business, the topic of the business, or even the creativity of a team’s business. And it was also a good place for our team to advertise our product, TFAM-DNA Enhancement Kit, to our potential customers who may use our product when the data storage method is commercialized in the future.

[Figure 13]: Picture of Business Webinar

To receive feedback on our product from the audiences who may be our customers in the future, we hosted a business webinar in September. We have analyzed our products and released our business approaches such as strategic market research and comparative analysis with the currently existing products through the webinar. This may target not only the general public but also larger IT corporations that might possibly use our products in the future. During this webinar, we incorporated aspects regarding the potential problems to overcome, including the effectiveness of our product compared to that of DNA storage and worries related to the environment.

Overall, it was an opportunity for others to hear and organize the public's thoughts through the webinar. This business webinar has allowed us to receive feedback on our product for real-life applications and our business strategies.

As a company, we needed to find a way to protect our intellectual property (IP). Therefore, we decided to apply for the patent to gain the right to prevent others from copying, manufacturing, selling or importing our invention without our permission. According to article 2 of the Korean Patent Act, “In the case of the invention of the method, the act of using the method or the act of subscribing to the use of the method may be protected.” To ensure the protection of our intellectual property from the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the patent proposal for our product, TFAM-DNA Enhancement Kit, was written in the format that the Korean patent office is requiring.

Funding

A pivotal part of the entrepreneurship journey was submitting a form for a fund called Crimson Youth Fund, a part of Crimson Education that provides students with resources to officially commercialize products to make an impact on society. As a step towards achieving a fund from the Crimson Youth Fund, we completed a funding proposal, which included 5 parts: the current situation regarding digital data for social attention, lists of the plans proposed by Korea_HS, ways Korea_HS will fulfill the plans through a meticulous process, the calculated cost of each part for the fund, and the overall impact our product has made already and will make in the future.

After one month of competitive judging, we were approved to receive a fund from the Crimson Youth Fund and received an email for our funding proposal. Jessica Silcock, the first marketing employee in the Crimson Youth Fund, asked if she could provide us with promotional support to help elevate recognition of our project through Crimson's social media and further support if needed. Overall, the Crimson Youth Fund was a success and enabled us to gain recognition from the Crimson Youth Fund and its social media.

The submission of the fund application to Crimson Youth Fund (CYF) enabled our product to take one more step to expand our current product and turn it into a practical reality. By submitting our proposal to Crimson Youth Fund, Korea_HS plans to continue with this project to successfully commercialize the product and accomplish the plans suggested in the proposal.

Future Prospect

The technology our product incorporates, synthetic biology, is an uprising industry, predicated to produce greater results and have a greater impact on today’s society and the next coming century. Combining information technology and biotechnology together - even incorporating a convenient and effective product - will be a turning point for the science field. Suppose we motivate the technology and science field to fully contribute to technology development for data science applications. In that case, it will fasten the rate of the development of new technologies and even solve various problems being caused by the limitations of the current technology and hardware storage method.

In the future, data consumption, distribution, and storage are expected to surge differently than now. For example, while current navigation consists of two-dimensional planes, drones, Urban Air Mobility (UAM), and more will require three-dimensional navigation data. Because we need three-dimensional data, not flat data, we need a huge amount of data that we can't compare with the amount of data we've ever had, and we need a huge data center to be able to use and store this data. Naturally, this tremendous data could cause a data overflow or climate change since much more electricity will be needed to store this data. And when this happens, our product will provide a way to overcome the limitations of the DNA storage method, which is developed to solve the current data storage method. Therefore, our product will contribute immensely to both data science and bioinformatics fields by suggesting a novel way of storing data stored in DNA more conveniently and eco-friendly. Also, it will contribute a lot in expanding the current market of the DNA storage field, which is already growing fast due to its promising uses, making our product contribute more to the world.

Despite the concern that our product is very novel and futuristic, it is undeniable that our product will be in effect in the future or even in today’s society if the scientists or professionals who study DNA storage adapt to applying our product in their daily experiments and uses.