Is there a simple and effective way of storing ones DNA for a thousand years? I define
Simple as needing no power or maintenance of any kind. The DNA is obtained by
Swabbing the inside of your mouth. Assume the storage location is a very cold and isolated place; such as Svalbard Island, where a high security vault is being built to store
The world's seed population.

Interesting question!
I think the best method we have now is to use a substance called cryoprotectant, to protect against freezing damage, and then to freeze the DNA in liquid nitrogen.
I am not completely sure if anyone has come with a "better" method yet.

I'm pretty sure, for a length of time like a thousand years, it would be much more efficient to completely sequence your DNA, store the information on an array of harddrives which can be replaced and recloned as they fail, and then resequence the DNA in the future (assuming future technology makes this process feasible). I'm sure there's something better for long term storage than a hard drive. CDs are okay for a few tens of years.

What do you think? (I know this is kind of sidestepping the question)

Good idea Capuchin. Yes, hopefully, future technology will allow that... and hopefully, the earth will still be inhabitable in a thousand years! At the rate we're going,.

Is human DNA completely sequencable at the moment? I don't keep too up to date with genetics and it is advancing at quite a rate. I understand that reproducing the sequence is not yet possible though.

manimuth? :)

In 2003, the Human Genome Project was completed (after 13 years of work!) where all 25,000 human genes were identified and all 3 billion base-pairs were sequenced.

Last year (Jan 2006) Harvard University began the Personal Genome Project where volunteers are asked to submit DNA to be sequenced and published.

Side note: Take a look at their list of potential risks. Interesting:

Potential risks Volunteers should be aware of the ways in which knowledge of their genome and phenotype might be used against them. For example, in principle, anyone with sufficient knowledge could take a volunteer's genome and/or open medical records and use them to (1) infer paternity or other features of the volunteer's genealogy, (2) claim statistical evidence that could affect employment or insurance for the volunteer, (3) claim relatedness of the volunteer to infamous villains (!), (4) make synthetic DNA corresponding to the volunteer and plant it at a crime scene (!), (5) revelation of disease lacking a current cure. (Note that this last example does not necessarily imply only helpless waiting, e.g. the affected individual can become an advocate for research on that disease.) The genetic information posted here, while directly associated only with the primary subject, may also have relevance to family members. Some may feel that the risk to the primary subjects is small, since they are recruited as healthy individuals and risk to relatives smaller still, but this evaluation should involve detailed discussions. (We note that most "healthy" individuals have some medical problems past, present, or future. The point is not exclude anyone "unhealthy", but rather to have the PGP recruit individuals who, in consultation with their family and health care providers, feel that they can give well-informed consent, accepting the risks of revealing whatever medical conditions they might have). Anything that is later inferred solely from their DNA sequence will be speculative with respect to the primary subjects, and even less predictive respect to their family, since inheritance of nearly all alleles is 50:50 random.

Exciting stuff!

Anyway, right now, we don't have the technology to create a human being from a DNA sequence but now that the genome is completely sequenced, it seems like the next logical step! We do have the ability to harvest organs and to make large amounts of protein from DNA sequences but not yet a complete living system.

Interesting comments from manimuth and Capuchin.

Getting back to the original question, DNA is an incredibly stable molecule. It is most stable when stored dried (dessicated) and in a cool environment (but not necessarily frozen). So, while in the lab we store it at -80 for practical purposed (we like it hydrated), I think long-term storage solutions now keep it desiccated on sterile FTA paper.

Right now we have no trouble sequencing 2000 year old mitochondrial DNA, although autosomal (nuclear) DNA is a little more problematic. But I won't get into that now...