Scientists create a "cassette tape" made of DNA that can store every song ever written
  • 93 points serendipitousevent

    Until recently, it was only Acid Jazz and Acid House, so this is a big step forward.

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    13 points Dank-Drebin

    No Acid Rock? How basic.

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    10 points veryverythrowaway

    No, but they strangely had the entire discography of Ace of Base.

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    4 points onlyinvowels

    Aces of bases*

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    2 points APeacefulWarrior

    Also, unfortunately, Genome Simmons' solo album.

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  • 46 points Nuke_Gunstar

    Guess ill have to buy the white album again

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    3 points Th3R00ST3R

    "These sound better" Stanley Goodspeed

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  • 20 points borgenhaust

    Across a tape a little over half a mile long, the researchers calculate that there are about 550,000 of these file slots.

    And when your cassette player starts to eat it, you will spend the rest of your life winding it back together with a pencil.

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  • 15 points doc_witt

    Just not the Eagles, man!

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    5 points big_angery

    Fuckin a man, i got a rash.

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    1 points ExoticTrout

    Fuggeddaboutit

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  • 11 points paulywauly99

    Would be great. They just haven’t found a way to play it yet.

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    13 points chungamellon

    They can through DNA sequencing but that’s a whole lot of work compared to nearly every other physical storage format. DNA storage has it’s niche but economically archival tapes are still better imo

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    8 points DowntimeJEM

    Imagine the data is stored in some cloned blob organism with one wire that sticks out of it but doesn’t plug into anything and you have to feed your computer blob a solution from a spray bottle on a schedule so your vacation photos don’t corrupt and it gets old and grows hairs but not like all over

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    3 points chungamellon

    It would more likely be in a small plastic tube in a -80C freezer

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    1 points sap91

    No I prefer the blob

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    2 points iggyiguana

    The answer is within you! 

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  • 8 points actionerror

    Lossless?

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    2 points Sparktank1

    Probably MP3 at a constant bitrate of 128kbps at 22kHz instead of 44.1kHz.

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  • 7 points theColeHardTruth

    Considering the rate at which AI slop music is generated nowadays, I find that extremely unbelievable.

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    8 points thederevolutions

    Surely it meant written by humans.

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  • 2 points 69odysseus

    I don't even know if we can find cassette's these days. I have seen cd's in old and record stores but not cassette. My 2007 Lexus still has the cassette outlet.

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    5 points Unfadable1

    You’d then be surprised to know that cassettes are having a small renaissance moment, with more sold in the last few years than even in the early 2000s.

    Internet-driven for sure, though, so you just gotta search.

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    2 points 69odysseus

    Thank You for that, will need to dig more online for best find!

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    1 points Unfadable1

    It’s the latest “record album collection,” which saw its own resurgence, so it makes sense these came next. Time to early invest in CD-stamping houses? Lol

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  • 2 points Klotzster

    Sean Parker intrigued

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  • 3 points [deleted]

    [deleted]

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    2 points gerkletoss

    Indexing is qn even bigger engineering hurdle for DNA data storage

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    2 points Taurondir

    Listen Buddy, if you give me something the size of a packet of cigarettes that can store 35 PETABYTES, I don't care if it's a Ball Of String I have to MANUALLY rewound into a ball after I do a backup.

    THIRTY FIVE PETABYTES.

    ... also the cats can play with it. maybe.

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    3 points nihiltres

    From the article:

    In the demonstration, copying data to and from the tape took tens of minutes for a file only a few hundred kilobytes in size.

    So sure, it looks good for long-term deep storage, but if you're using any of the data remotely regularly you're going to want a storage medium with just a touch less latency. :P

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  • 2 points IAmASoundEngineer

    16/44.1 or 24/96?

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    5 points Srirachachacha

    25 or 6 to 4

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  • 1 points Jimbuber2

    Finally a way to have “Baby Got Back” last forever

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  • 1 points AdhesivenessFun2060

    I read years ago they found a way to increase cassette storage by like 100 times or something crazy.

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  • 1 points imtalkintou

    So a cd of DNA is next?

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  • 1 points Volfie

    We’ve planned this before when the aliens were coming to wipe us out. 

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  • 1 points The_Human_Event

    Let me know when I can inject it and play it back

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  • 1 points Pharmakeus_Ubik

    I was told we'd be able to store Hollerith cards in holograms, but we're still waiting. Thanks, 3M.

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  • 1 points dondeestasbueno

    The wow and flutter of the double helix must sound insane.

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  • 1 points brentexander

    I have to buy another media player?

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  • 1 points NoPossibility

    Well, the years start comin'

    and they don't stop comin'

    and they don't stop comin'

    and they don't stop comin'

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  • 1 points chrisfpdx

    Seek time is going to be a bitch!

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  • 1 points Ging287

    36 motherfuckin' petabytes.

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  • 1 points Honest_Yak3340

    In what quality

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  • 1 points PeterMahogany

    Has a shuffle button or do I have to listen in chronological order?

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  • 1 points Lettuce_bee_free_end

    And the shelf life isn't that great one would assume. A quick magnet and wiped.

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  • 1 points Bergniez

    good luck searching for your song

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  • -1 points TRKlausss

    I don’t see this being used as a storage media, taking into account that microorganisms together with water will feed on the proteins there… It’s a cool experiment though.

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    3 points a_rabid_buffalo

    Well through their tests they estimate that the DNA cassettes would stay stable and usable for up to three centuries.

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  • -12 points AndreLinoge55

    ……..Cure fucking cancer!!

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    10 points joegetto

    Not every science is cancer research.

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